The Puerto Rican Literature Project

Alexandra Pagán Vélez was born on May 18, 1978, in Ponce, Puerto Rico and grew up in Yauco, Puerto Rico. She is a poet, professor, writer, and editor. She earned her BA in comparative literature from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, and an MA and PhD from University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. She teaches at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and the Metropolitan University in Cupey. El Nuevo Día selected her short story “El cisne,” the Premio de Cuento. and, an honorable mention in the 2005 Olga Nolla contest for her poetry collection, Vitrinas, altoparlantes y espejos. Pagán Vélez’s publications include El diccionario y el Capitán (2010), Cuando era niña hablaba como niña (2014), Del Alzheimer y otros demonios (2014), Relatos de domingos (2014), Amargo (2014), horror-Real (2016, 2021), and Otro duelo (2022). Her work has been published in various anthologies, such as Los otros cuerpos: Antología de temática gay, lésbica y queer (2010), Convocados, Los rostros de la hiedra (2008), and Plomos (2012). Her literary influences include Abelardo Díaz Alfaro, José Gualberto Padilla, Julia de Burgos, Luis Llorens Torres, and José de Diego as well as Spain’s Generation of ‘27 poets.

Works Cited

“Alexandra Pagán Vélez.” Interview conducted by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera, 18 Dec. 2022.

“Alexandra Pagán Vélez.” Universidad del sagrado Corazón, https://www.sagrado.edu/alexandra-pagan/.

Schofield, Mollie. “‘Being Caribbean Is Something I’m Discovering’/‘Ser Caribe es algo que voy descubriendo’: An Interview with Alexandra Pagán Vélez/Una Entrevista a Alexandra Pagán Vélez.” Small Axe, June 2022, smallaxe.net/sxsalon/discussions/being-caribbean-something-im-discoveringser-caribe-es-algo-que-voy-descubriendo