Raúlrsalinas, 1934-

Salinas was born in San Antonio, Texas, on March 17, 1934, and moved to Los Angeles in 1956. Over the span of the next 15 years Salinas spent 11 years in jail. His prison years were prolific writing years, and he was released early (1972) to become a student at the University of Washington. Salinas' involvement with various political movements has earned him an international reputation as an eloquent spokesperson for justice, and his poetry and other writings reflect this concern, as well as the strife of barrio living. The influence of jazz and the beat poets can be seen in his work, but academicians have primarily viewed Salinas as a formative poet of the Chicano Movement. Currently he is the proprietor of Resistencia Bookstore and Red Salmon Press in Austin.