David Tomas Martinez

Born and raised in San Diego, poet David Tomas Martinez earned a BA and MFA at San Diego State University and has completed doctoral studies at the University of Houston.

Martinez’s poems explore themes of masculinity and machismo. In a 2013 interview with Erika L. Sanchez for NBCLatino, Martinez stated, “You know in any good piece of art when their truth is poking through. I know those moments when I write. I think, “This is true, this hurts, and this is not ok.” I indict myself in so many poems. I think that to a certain extent, you have to be unafraid to make a fool of yourself.” He is the author of the poetry collections Hustle (2014) and Post-Traumatic Hood Disorder (2018). A CantoMundo Fellow, he has served as an editor for Gulf Coast and has contributed to the Voz Alta Project in Barrio Logan.

Martinez lives in Brooklyn.