WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE
January 8 – 22, 2021
Monica Rico
Monica Rico is a second-generation Mexican-American who grew up in Saginaw, Michigan alongside General Motors and the legend of Theodore Roethke. She is an MFA candidate at the University of Michigan’s Helen Zell Writers’ Program and works for the Bear River Writers’ Conference. Her poems have appeared in Anomaly, Pleiades, Black Warrior Review, BOAAT, Glass: A Journal of Poetry (Poets Resist), and Split this Rock. She is a CantoMundo Fellow and Macondista.
She is currently working on her first full-length poetry collection, PINION, a magical realist history of Mexican migration to Michigan and its impact on the building of the General Motors empire. This collection focuses on family history, the roles of women, and intergenerational trauma.
Community Event
Post Residency Feedback
The days I went for a walk were my most creative. There is something invigorating about the outdoors, especially looking at Lake Michigan. Even today, in the cold snow, I found myself staring at the Lake through what felt like small hail – for fun!
What I appreciate most about my time here, was the ability to slow down. Thank you for this space, the uninterrupted time to explore my work, and challenge myself. I am forever grateful.