Sept. 22, 2004
Contact: Jo Ann Lloyd
(805) 756-1511
Cal Poly Professor Has Sixth Novel Published, Seventh Forthcoming in 2005
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly Modern Languages and Literatures Professor and award-winning writer Gloria Velasquez recently had a sixth novel, “Teen Angel,” published by Arte Publico Press.
“Teen Angel” is the sixth in Velasquez’s Roosevelt
High School Series of young adult novels. The books focus on a group of
multiracial teenagers who are confronted with a variety of social and
cultural issues such as violence, sexuality and prejudice. The RHS Series
is widely read
throughout the United States and Europe.
“Teen Angel” was published in France in 2003 under the title “J'aime qui je veux,” by Pocket Jeuneusse. The novel explores teen pregnancy through the eyes of a 15-year-old.
Velasquez’s seventh novel in the RHS series, “Tyrone’s Journey,” features an African American teen. The book will be published in March 2005.
Velasquez is an award-winning poet, fiction writer and singer-songwriter.
She has been teaching at Cal Poly since 1985, the same year she earned
a Ph.D. from Stanford University in Latin American
and Chicano literatures.
Over the years she has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. She was included in an article titled “100 History-Making Ethnic Women,” published by Linworth Publishing Inc. in March 2004. She was also featured in a recent article that appeared in Hispanic Heritage Month.
Velasquez's song “Son in Vietnam” first appeared in the PBS documentary “Soldados: Chicanos in Vietnam” in August of 2003. The documentary will air again Sept. 25.
A native of Loveland, Colo., she will appear in a PBS documentary, "La Raza de Colorado" in May 2005.
She lives in San Luis Obispo. For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Velasquez at 756-2992 or gvelasqu@calpoly.edu.
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