Ordinary Bodies

In this stunning collection of poems, Rodriguez finds the extraordinary in the day-to-day mundane, our wounded and worn bodies, the inconsequential rituals of our lives. In his talented hands, all ordinary bodies are allowed grace and beauty. Always moving, these poems are lived-in monuments to the sometimes painful, sometimes joyful beauty of living.

- Chole N. Clark, author of Collective Gravities




In "Ordinary Bodies," Rodriguez's intriguing examination of the faded, calloused, and broken, leads to a higher empathy (without romanticizing) and an embracing of the ordinary people and moments of his barrio, family, and self. Through an accessible yet intricate verse, Rodriguez takes us into his first-generation, working-class, Mexican American barrio and shows us another side of the American reality and dream; a world of blue-collar jobs, overbearing moms, a beer on the couch: a world of our own. This is a book to be read in one feverish sitting, not just because of its approachability and palabra, but because of its flowing energía, charm, and wisdom.

- Jose Hernandez Diaz, author of The Fire Eater