Tim Z. Hernandez’s list of artistic and literary accomplishments is truly dizzying. He began his inolvement in the arts as a painter and muralist, helping to create building-sized artworks in such places as the San Francisco International Airport . Later he became an actor-playwright, performing in traveling troupes, and writing and performing one-man shows that played in such prestigious venues as the Los Angeles’ Getty Center Museum, The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts, Stanford University, and at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. His one-man show, “Diaries of a Macho” received the 2003 Best Solo Production Award at Fresno’s Rogue Performance Festival in 2003.
Hernandez’ first poetry collection, Skin Tax received the American Book Award in 2006. He is also the recipient of a Nora Zeal Hurston Award (2006) for writers of color who exemplify great literary promise and dedication to their communities, and the James Duval Phelan Award (2003) for best manuscript by an emerging writer. His Novel Breathing, in Dust was published this year (2010) by Texas Tech Press.
Hernandez grew up in Visalia and received his B.A. in writing and litearature from Naropa University. He has been an arts education consultant for non-profit groups, foundations, libraries, and school districts, offering workshops to youth and aspiring writers and performers. Currently he is Community Programs Director for the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust. He lives in Fresno with his wife and two children.
