Autor/-in: Martin Cossio

Martin Cossio is the son of Mexican immigrants who met in an English learners class in El Monte, California. He was born in East L. A. and grew up skateboarding and getting into trouble in San Bernardino, part of a region in Southern California referred to as the Inland Empire, or the IE. Martin has been awarded an honorable mention by Academy of American Poets and a summer residency by Sundress Academy for the Arts. His poems have been published by various journals, including The Lyric, Modern Haiku, Inlandia: A Literary Journey, and Last Stanza Poetry Journal. He was named the first national runner-up for Inlandia Institute's 2025 Hillary Gravendyk Prize. A graduate of UCR, Palm Desert's MFA program and a former poetry editor and copy editor of The Coachella Review, Martin teaches at a local high school, trains at a neighborhood gym, and lives in "the blade" with his xolo, Squintly.