The Puerto Rican Literature Project

Kadiri Vaquer Fernández was born in 1987 in Manhattan, Kansas, where she lived until she was five years old. Her parents worked in a factory in the town of Juncos, Puerto Rico, before moving to the Fort Riley military base. Vaquer Fernández’s parents eventually divorced and she moved with her mother to a town just outside New York, New York. They eventually returned to Juncos after her maternal grandmother’s passing. Vaquer Fernández obtained her BA in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in creative writing from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, an MFA in creative writing from New York University, and a PhD in Spanish and Portuguese from Vanderbilt University. Her work has been influenced by poets such as Ángelamaría Dávila, José María Lima, Julia de Burgos, Clarice Lispector, Alejandra Pizarnik, Olga Orozco, and Dionne Brand. Vaquer Fernández’s poetry has been published in The Puerto Rico Review, Rigorous, Furman, 80 Grados, among others. Her works include Andamiaje, (Ediciones Callejón, 2013), which received an honorable mention for the Farolito Azul Prize, and Ritos de pasaje (La Secta de los Perros, 2019). She currently lives in El Paso, Texas. 

Works Cited

Vaquer Fernández, Kadiri. Interview. Conducted by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera, 8 Jan. 2022.