Photo Credit: Arlene Mejorado
Karla Cordero is a descendant of the Chichimeca peoples of Northern Mexico, a Chicana poet, educator, and ARTtivist raised along the borderlands of Calexico, California, she now serves as the first inaugural Poet Laureate for North County San Diego (2026–2028).
A three-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Karla is the author of the chapbook Grasshoppers Before Gods (Dancing Girl Press, 2016) and the award-winning poetry collection How to Pull Apart the Earth (Not A Cult, 2018), recipient of the San Diego Book Award, a Bronze Medal in the International Latino Book Awards, and a finalist for the International Book Awards. Her work has appeared in Poem-a-Day from the Academy of American Poets, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, O, The Oprah Magazine, PANK, Split This Rock, Bettering American Poetry, Latino Book Review, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT Anthology, and has been featured at the Bernie Sanders 2020 Campaign Rally, among many other publications and venues.
As a performer, Karla was the 2013 Grand Slam Champion and helped lead the Elevated San Diego Slam Team to rank fourth in the nation at the 2013 National Poetry Slam Competition. She has performed for television networks NBC 7 San Diego's Art Pulse, TBN's Juice Live, The Old Globe Theatre, and at universities, conferences, and festivals across the country.
Her honors include the COURAGE to WRITE Grant from the de Groot Foundation, a California Arts Council Fellowship, the San Diego State University Global Diversity Award, and the San Diego Writers Festival Community Educator of the Year Award. She is also a fellow of Macondo, VONA, the Community of Writers, CantoMundo, Tin House, The Loft Literary Center, and the Pink Door Writing Retreat.
Karla serves as Executive Director of Glassless Minds, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating literary arts and community through poetry, and teaches creative writing and composition at MiraCosta College and San Diego City College.
Follow her on Instagram @karlaflaka13.
