Quintana, Leroy

Born in Albuquerque in 1944, poet Leroy V. Quintana spent his childhood living with his grandparents in Raton and Questa. In fifth grade he moved back to Albuquerque with his mother and stepfather before moving to El Paso, Texas for a year. The rootlessness characterized by his childhood is a major theme in Quintana's stories and poems. Characters in his writing are also influenced by the cuentos he heard growing up with his grandparents. His work draws heavily on oral tradition, exposing readers to the social and natural environment of his grandparents' culture.

Quintana earned a B.A. in English from the University of New Mexico in 1971. A three year enlistment in the Army during which he served a year in Vietnam, interrupted his undergraduate studies. After receiving his B.A., Quintana began work on his M.A. in English at New Mexico State University, studying under poet Keith Wilson. Following completion of his M.A., Quintana taught at El Paso Community College for five years then briefly at both New Mexico State and the University of New Mexico. In 1984, Quintana completed a master's degree in counseling at Western New Mexico University then moved to San Diego, CA to start work as a marriage, family and child counselor at the San Ysidro Mental Center. In 1988 Quintana returned to teaching at Mesa Community College in San Diego, CA.

Throughout his dual teaching and counseling careers, Quintana continued to publish his poetry. Following his first two books, Hijo del pueblo: New Mexico Poems, and Sangre, Quintana published four subsequent books. Interrogations (1990), The History of Home (1993), My Hair Turning Grey Among Strangers (1996) and The Great Whirl of Exile: Poems (1999) solidified his place as a major force in Latino poetry. His work won several awards, including the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award twice, as well as the El Paso Border Regional Library Association award.