Rhina P. Espaillat, Poet

Rhina was born in the Dominican Republic in 1932, has lived in the U.S.A. since 1939, grew up in NYC, and now lives in Newburyport, MA.  She earned a B.A. from Hunter College, where she majored in English and minored in Humanities and Latin, and has a Master of Science in Education from Queens College. Espaillat taught high school English in NYC for several years, most of that in Queens. She was a founding member of the Fresh Meadows Poets, a literary group still active in the borough.

 

In 1990 Espaillat moved to Newburyport with her late husband, Alfred Moskowitz, a well known and beloved sculptor and teacher (deceased in 2016). For many years she coordinated the Newburyport Art Association's Annual Poetry Contest and organized poetry events of the yearly Newburyport Literary Festival. She is a co-founder and member of the Powow River Poets,  and has been instrumental in bringing bilingual poetry readings to the North of Boston area, and bilingual activities shared by area high school students.

 

Espaillat writes poetry and prose both in English and in her native Spanish, and translates from and into both of her languages.  Her work has appeared on many internet sites and magazines, and in over seventy anthologies in both languages.  She is a frequent reader and speaker in the Boston area, and conducts workshops, as visiting poet, at colleges and universities on many states.  Espaillat has published thirteen collections, and has received many awards throughout her career thus far.