Judith Ortiz Cofer -- Vita

Judith Ortiz Cofer
Complete Vita

Personal Data     Positions Held     Education      Books     Fiction
Essays and Creative Non-Fiction     Poetry     Articles and Reviews
Translations     Film, Recordings, Performances, and Interviews
Awards, Honors, Grants and Fellowships     Lectures and Panels
Editorial Work     University and Department Service
Community Service     Instruction

Personal Data

Judith Ortiz Cofer
P. O. Box 2599
Athens, Georgia 30612

Positions Held

The University of Georgia:

2006-present: Regents' and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing
1999-2006: Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing
1997-1999: Professor of English and Creative Writing
1992-1997: Associate Professor
1991-1992: Visiting Professor
1984-1987: Instructor

Other Appointments:

Spring 2001: Gertrude Vanderbilt and Harold S. Vanderbilt Visiting Writer at Vanderbilt University
1991: Visiting King/Chavez/Parks Professor, American Culture Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1988-1989: Instructor, Macon College (Georgia), Humanities Division
1981-1984: Lecturer, University of Miami

Education

M.A. in English, Florida Atlantic University, 1977

English Speaking Union of America Fellow at Oxford University, Summer Graduate School, 1977
Master's Thesis: "Lillian Hellman's Southern Plays"

B.A. in English, Augusta College, 1974

Books

La deli latina: Prosa y poesía, Spanish translation of The Latin Deli: Prose and Poetry, by Elena Olazagasti-Segovia. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2006.
El año de nuestra Revolución, Spanish translation of The Year of Our Revolution, by Elena Olazagasti-Segovia. Houston: Piñata Books, A Division of Arte Publico Press, 2006.
A Love Story Beginning in Spanish: Poems, by Judith Ortiz Cofer. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2005. [Poetry]
Call Me Maria, by Judith Ortiz Cofer. New York: Scholastic, 2004. [Novel]

(Scholastic Press paperback edition, July 2006)

The Meaning of Consuelo, by Judith Ortiz Cofer, New York: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 2003. [Novel]

(Beacon Press paperback edition, May 2005.)

Woman in Front of the Sun: On Becoming A Writer, by Judith Ortiz Cofer, Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2000. [Essays]
Mujer frente al Sol, Spanish translation of Woman in Front of the Sun: On Becoming a Writer, by Elena Olazagasti-Segovia. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2005.
Sleeping with One Eye Open: Women Writers and the Art of Survival. Eds. Marilyn Kallet and Judith Ortiz Cofer. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1999. [Essay collection]
The Year of Our Revolution: Selected and New Prose and Poetry, by Judith Ortiz Cofer, University of Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1998.

(Penguin U.S.A. paperback edition, 2000.)

An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio, Troll Books school book club publication, Penguin, U.S.A. 1995.

(Penguin U.S.A. paperback edition, December, 1996.)

Una isla como tu: Historias del barrio, Spanish translation of An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio, by Juan Elias Tovar Cross. Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 1997.
Storie del barrio, Italian translation of An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio, by Pietro Deandrea. Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Publishers, 1997.
Verhalen uit de Barrio, Dutch translation of An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio, by Tineke Funhoff. The Netherlands: Gottmer Publishers, 1997.
Reaching for the Mainland and Selected New Poems. Tempe: Bilingual Review Press, 1995.
The Latin Deli. Athens, GA and London: University of Georgia Press, 1993. [Prose and poetry]

(W.W. Norton paperback edition, 1995.)

Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood. University of Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1990. [Essays and poetry]

Reprinted by Bilingual Review/Press, 2001-2002.

Bailando en silencio, Spanish translation of Silent Dancing, by Dr. Elena Olazagasti-Segovia, Vanderbilt University, University of Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1997.

Reprinted by Bilingual Review/Press, 2001-2002.

The Line of the Sun. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1989. [Novel]
Spanish Translation of The Line of the Sun by Prof. Elena Olazagasti-Segovia, Vanderbilt University. San Juan, Puerto Rico: University of Puerto Rico Press, Fall 1997.
Reaching for the Mainland. Tempe: Bilingual Review Press, 1987. [Poetry]
Terms of Survival. Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1987. [Poetry]

Reprinted by Bilingual Review/Press, 2001-2002.

Peregrina. Golden, Colorado: Riverstone Press, 1986. [Poetry] First Place Award, Riverstone International Chapbook Competition, 1985.

Fiction

"Arturo's Flight." from An Island Like You. Reprinted in:

Prentice Hall Literature Portfolio. Eds. Christy Desmet, D. Alexis Hart, and Deborah Church Miller. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 314-20.

“Sofia and the Magic Fish.” Staccato 1 (Spring 2005): 3.
“Tío’s Nostalgia.” The Chattahoochee Review 24 (Summer 2004): 51-53.
Excerpt from The Meaning of Consuelo. Review Literature and Arts of the Americas 67 (2003): 64-65.
“Hispanic Barbie With Accessories.” Vestal Review 14 (2003): 16-18.
"The Dance," except from “Don José of La Mancha.” from An Island Like You. Reprinted in:

High Point. Eds. Alfredo Shifini, et. al. Carmel, CA: Hampton-Brown, 2001. 329-335.

“Lessons of Love.” Elements of English. Eds. Douglas Hilker and Sue Harper. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000. 181-185.
“A Theory of Chaos.” The Watershed Anthology II. La Crosse: University of Wisconsin, 1999.
“Gravity.” Latino Heretics. Normal, IL: Fiction Collective Two, 1999. 166-174.
“Grandmother’s Room.” Student’s Book of College English. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999. 109-111. Reprinted in:

Student’s Book of College English: Rhetoric, Readings, Handbook. 10^th ed. Eds. David Skwire and Harvey S. Wiener. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005. 117-19.

"A Job for Valentin." Cicada 1.3 (January-February 1999): 65-81.
“American History.” from The Latin Deli. Reprinted in:

Literature: The Human Experience. Shorter 9th edition. Eds. Richard Abcaria and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007. 292-97.

Literature: The Human Experience. Shorter 9th edition. Eds. Richard Abcaria and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006. 292-97.
Literature: The Human Experience. 9th edition. Eds. Richard Abcaria and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006. 347-53.
Elements of Literature, Third Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. 292-99.

Big City Cool: Short Stories About Urban Youth. Eds. M. Jerry Weiss and Helen S. Weiss. New York: Persea Books. 2002. 64-72.

Elements of Literature, Third Course. Audio CD Library. Disc 11. Collection 4. Holt, Rhinehart and Winston. 2001.

Glencoe Literature: The Reader's Choice. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. 156-165.

The Language of Literature. Eds. Arthur N. Applebee, et al. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littell, 2000. 293-301.

Literature and Ourselves. 3^rd ed.. Eds. Gloria Mason Henderson, Bill Day, and Sandra Stevenson Waller. New York: Longman, 2001. 55-61.

Elements of Literature, Third Course. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 2000. 293-299.

Growing Up Ethnic in America. Eds. Maria Mazziotti Gillan & Jennifer Gillan. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1999. 93-102.

Exploring Literature. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service, 1999. 169-180.

Thinking In Writing: Rhetorical Patterns and Critical Response. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. 59-65.

Elements of Literature. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1997. 291-297.

The Language of Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littel, 1997. 27-38.

Literature and Ourselves. New York: Longman, 1997. 59-65, 362, 1230.

Contemporary’s GED. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1994. 801-802.

Who Do You Think You Are? Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1993. 36-46.

You Haven’t To Deserve. The Task Force for the Homeless in Atlanta. Marietta, GA: Longstreet Press, Inc., 1991.

Latino Literature. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 13-25.

"Bad Influence." from An Island Like You. Reprinted in:

Sight Lines10. Eds. Mary Crane et al. Toronto: Prentice Hall Canada, 2000. 244-246.

Coming of Age. Lincolnwood, Illinois: National Textbook Company, 1999. 45-65.

Leaving Home. New York: Harpercollins, 1997. 65-90.

“Abuela Invents the Zero.” from An Island Like You. Reprinted in:

The Pigman: with Connections. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1998. 199-203.

“Catch the Moon.” from An Island Like You. Reprinted in:

Glencoe Literature: The Reader’s Choice. Eds. Beverly Ann Chin et al. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2000. 63-69.

Best Short Stories. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Jamestown Publishers, 1998. 160-170.

“By Love Betrayed.” from The Latin Deli. Reprinted in:

Making Choices. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. 359-362.

“Kennedy in the Barrio.” Micro Fiction. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. 80-81.
“Corazon’s Cafe.” Puerto Rican Women Writers Issue of Callaloo 17.3 (1994): 715-721.
“The One Who Watches.” Spec. Issue “Long Stories, Short Stories, and True Stories” of Alaska Quarterly Review Fall 1994: 204-210.
“Not for Sale.” The Kenyon Review 14.4 (1992): 51-55. Reprinted in:

Approaching Literature in the 21^st Century: Fiction, Poetry, Drama. Eds. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. 134-138.

Introduction to Literature. 6^th ed.. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. 101-105.

Stories in the Stepmother Tongue. Eds. Josip Novakovich & Robert Shapard. Buffalo, NY: White Wine Press, 2000. 21-27.

“The Witch’s Husband.” The Kenyon Review 14.4 (1992): 51-55, 56-61.
“Nada.” The Georgia Review 46.4 (1992). Reprinted in:

Anthology of the American Short Story. Ed. James Nagel. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. 908 – 916.

Turning Life into Fiction. Ed. Robin Hemley. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press, 2006. 224-32.
After O’Connor: Stories from Contemporary Georgia. Ed. Hugh Ruppersburg. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2003. 44-52.

Prize Stories 1994: The O. Henry Awards. Ed. William Abrahams. New York; Anchor, 1994.
Excerpted in: Complete GED Preparation. Ed. Ellen Northcutt. Illinois: Steck-Vaughn, 2002. 49.
Excerpted (in Spanish translation) in: GED: Lenguaje, Lectura. Colombia: Steck-Vaughn, A Harcourt Company, 2003. 162.

“An Hour with Abuelo.” from An Island Like You. Reprinted in:

Prentice Hall Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 209-14.
Latino Literature. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

“Monologue of the Spanish Gentleman.” The Americas Review 20.2 (1992).
The Line of the Sun, excerpts reprinted in:

Diverse Identities: Class Multicultural Essays. Lincolnwood, IL: Austin Peay State University Press, 1996. 135-142.

American Mosaic: Multicultural Readings in Context. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. 300-306.

Worlds in Our Words: An Anthology of New American Women Writers. New York: Harper Collins.

Essays and Creative Non-Fiction

"Judith Ortiz Cofer Talks about the Form." Unit Introduction: Short Stories. Prentice Hall Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 204-05.
"Judith Ortiz Cofer's Insights into 'An Hour with Abuelo'." Prentice Hall Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 215.
"Judith Ortiz Cofer on Bringing Characters to Life." Prentice Hall Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 409.
Unit Introduction: "The Modern World: From Conflict to Renewal (1890-1945)." Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 1050-51.
"Judith Ortiz Cofer Introduces 'Ithaka' by Constantine Cavafy." Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 1142-.43.
"Travels with Alice in Wonderland." The Washington Post 23 Jul. 2006: BW8.
“I Fell in Love, or My Hormones Awakened.” from Silent Dancing. Reprinted in:

Literature for Composition. 8th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007. 683 – 687.
Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. 3rd Edition. Ed. Frank Madden. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007. 517 – 520.

"Tales Told Under the Mango Tree." from Silent Dancing. Reprinted in:

Prentice Hall Literature Portfolio. Eds. Christy Desmet, D. Alexis Hart, and Deborah Church Miller. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 306-13.
Access Literature: A Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Barbara Barnard and David F. Winn. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 888-91.

Preface to Silent Dancing. From Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood. Reprinted as "Judith Ortiz Cofer on Memory and Personal Essays" in:

The Writer's Presence: A Pool of Readings. Eds. Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006. 118-20.

“5:00 A.M.: Writing as Ritual.” from Latin Deli. Reprinted in:

A World of Writing. Eds. Alyse W. Jones and Lee Brewer Jones. NY: Pearson/Longman, 2007. 44 – 46.

"Woman in Front of the Sun: Journey Toward a Poem." from A Woman in Front of the Sun. Reprinted in:

New American Essays: A Book Edition of New Letters Magazine 72.1 (2005/06): 264-73.

"And May He Be Bilingual." from A Woman in Front of the Sun. Reprinted in:

Lofty Dogmas: Poets on Poetics. Eds. Deborah Brown, Annie Finch, and Maxine Kumin. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2005. 385-87. (excerpt)

"Rituals: A Prayer, a Candle, and a Notebook." Becoming American. Ed. Meri Nana-Ama Danquah. New York: Hyperion, 2000. 29-38.
"But Tell It Slant: From Poetry to Prose and Back Again." Writing Creative Nonfiction. Eds. Carolyn Forché and Philip Gerard. Cincinnati, Ohio: Story Press, 2001. 8-13.
"Out of the Darkness: Writing to Survive La Lucha." Water~Stone. 3.1 (Fall 2000) : 65-79. Specially commissioned as the second annual Meridel Le Sueur Essay by Water~Stone.
“My Rosetta.” Prairie Schooner 74 (Summer 2000): 70-78.
“The Myth of the Latin Woman.” Glamour Jan. 1992. Reprinted as “Don’t Call Me a Hot Tamale” in:

Writing in Context: Paragraphs and Essays. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. 548-551.

Reprinted as “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” in:

Four in One: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook. 4th ed. Eds.Edward A. Dornan and Robert Dees. New York: Pearson, 2008. 485 – 490.
Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study. 7th Edition. Ed. Paula S. Rothenberg. New York: Worth Publishers, 2008. 418 – 422.

Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric, and Handbook. 5th ed. Eds. Susan Bachmann and Melinda Barth. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007. 183-87.
One World, Many Cultures. 6th ed. Eds. Stuart Hirschberg and Terry Hirschberg. New York: Longman, 2007. 158-62.
Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. 5th ed. Ed. Estelle Disch. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 142-46.
Sundance Choice: Public Life Reader. Ed. Mark Connelly. Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 27-31.
The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across The Disciplines. 9th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 367-71.
Sex, Self, and Society: The Social Context of Sexuality. Ed. Tracey L. Steele. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005. 91-95.

The Longwood Guide to Writing. 3^rd Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005. 148-153.

We Are America: A Thematic Reader and Guide to Writing. 5^th ed.. Ed. Anna Joy. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005. 415-419.

Patterns: A Prentice Hall Pocket Reader. Ed. Dorothy Minor. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005. 111-116.

Women Writing Resistance. Ed. Jennifer Browdy De Hernandez. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2003. 109-115.

Joining the Conversation: An Anthology for Developing Readers. Ed. Marguerite Crowley Weibel. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. 252-263.

The Student Writer: Editor and Critic. 6^th Edition. Ed. Barbara Fine Clouse. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004. 221-226.

The User’s Guide to College Writing: Reading, Analyzing, and Writing. 2^nd ed. Eds. Nancy M. Kreml et. al. New York: Pearson, 2004. 525-531.

Between Worlds A Reader, Rhetoric, and Handbook. 4^th ed. Eds. Susan Bachmann and Melinda Barth. New York: Pearson, 2004. 223-228.
Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. 3^rd ed. Ed. Estelle Disch. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 132-36. <>
Strategies for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader. 2nd ed. Eds. Robert Funk, Linda Coleman, and Susan X. Day. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2003. 412-17.
A Transdisciplinary Introduction to Women’s Studies. Eds. Arlene Avakian and Alexandrina Deschamps. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 2002. 25-28.

One Hundred Great Essays. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: Longman, 2002. 147-54.

The Blair Reader. 4th ed.. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002. 412-17.

Fifty Great Essays. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: Longman, 2002. 94-107.

Frankenstein. Lodi, New Jersey: Everbind Anthologies, 2002. 303-306.

Achieving Correctness in Academic Writing. Ed. Adele MacGowan-Gilhooly. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company, 2002. 15-19.

Every Day, Everywhere: Global Perspectives on Popular Culture. Eds. Stuart Hirschberg and Terry Hirschberg. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 19-24.

The New Millenium Reader. 3rd ed.. Eds. Stuart Hirschberg and Terry Hirschberg. NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2003. 54-58.

One World, Many Cultures. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. 167-175.

Race, Class, and Gender. Eds. Margaret L. Anderson and Patricia Hill Collins. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2001. 342-347.

Strategies for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2000. 427-432.

The New Millenium Reader. 2^nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2000. 208-214.

Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 2000. 196-201.

The Blair Reader. 3^rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. 452-457.

Caribbean Connections: Moving North. Washington, DC: Network of Educators on the Americas, 1998.138-141.

Against the Current: Readings for Writers. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998. 323-329.

The Prentice Hall Reader. 5^th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1998. 211-218.

Crossing Cultures: Readings For Composition. Boston, London, Toronto, etc: Allyn and Bacon, 1998. 155-161.

We Are America: A Thematic Reader and Guide to Writing. New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. 411-416.

Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. New York: St Martin’s Press, 1998. 292-296.

The Millenium Reader. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997. 218-223.

First Person Singular. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. 90-95.

Experiencing Race, Class, and Gender in the United States. Mountain View, CA, London and Toronto: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1997. 226-28.

Interacting With Essays. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Co., 1996. 179-186.

Reconstructing Gender. CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997. 181-185.

The Essay Connection. Massachusetts and Toronto: D.C. Heath and Co., 1995. 155-162, 346-53.

Women’s Voices from the Borderlands. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995. 102-108.

Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995. 203-107.

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