Leslie Contreras-Schwartz

Teaches at WriteSpace Houston

Leslie Contreras Schwartz is a native Houstonian who grew up in northwest Houston and attended Aldine I.S.D. schools. Her first book, a collection of poems, Fuego, was published by Saint Julian Press. She holds an MFA in poetry from Warren Wilson College and a BA in English from Rice University, where she won the Academy of American Poets’ College & University Prize in 2001. Her poetry has appeared, or is forthcoming in Tinderbox Literary Journal, Storyscape Literary Journal, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and Pebble Lake Review, among others. Several of her poems appeared in Improbable Worlds: An Anthology of Texas and Louisiana Poets by Mutabilis Press in 2001. Her personal essays have appeared in the Houston Chronicle, Ozy, Huffington Post, and Dame Magazine. She has taught composition at the University of Houston and Houston Community College and composition and literature at the University of Houston - Downtown. She also works as a freelance journalist, and in her previous life, has worked as an editor and general assignments reporter. To read more of Leslie's work, visit lesliecschwartz.com.