We are continuing our collaboration with the magazine CultureStrike  to bring you another Sabiduría, or words of wisdom from a poet. This week we speak to award-winning author and performance artists Tim Hernandez about growing up in rural California and the power that language had over him as a child. Special thanks to Eduardo Corral for curating this series.

Tim Hernandez reading “Dear Hector,” “Adios Fresno,” and “Brown Christ.”

 Tim Z. Hernandez is a poet, novelist, and performance artist whose awards include the 2006 American Book Award, the 2010 Premio Aztlán Prize in Fiction, and the James Duval Phelan Award from the San Francisco Foundation. He is the author of three collections of poetry and two novels, most recently, Mañana Means Heaven, based on the life of Bea Franco.