Matt Sedillo features at Obsidian Tongues

El Martillo Press co-founder and CEO Matt Sedillo reads at Obsidian Tongues at Galeria Yasmin in Pomona! Hosted by Ceasar K. Avelar.

Galeria Yasmin

250 W 2nd St.

Pomona, CA 91766, USA

Free

All ages

About the feature:

Matt Sedillo has been described as the "best political poet in America" by investigative reporter Greg Palast as well as "the poet laureate of the struggle" by historian Paul Ortiz. His work has drawn comparisons in print to Bertolt Brecht, Roque Dalton, Amiri Baraka, Allen Ginsberg, Carl Sandburg,  and various other legends of the past. Sedillo was the recipient of the 2017 Joe Hill Labor Poetry award, a panelist at the 2020 Texas book festival, a participant in the 2012 San Francisco International Poetry Festival, the 2022 Elba Poetry Festival, the 2023 Guadalajara Book Fair, 2024 Medellin Poetry Festival, the 2025 Hurlingham Poetry Festival, the 2025 Ghazipur Literary Festival, the 2025 Guadalajara Book Fair and the recipient of the 2022 Dante's Laurel. Sedillo has appeared on CSPAN and has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Axios, among many other media outlets and publications. Sedillo has spoken at Casa de las Americas in Havana, Cuba, the National Library of Chile in Santiago Chile, Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile, at numerous conferences and forums such as the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education, the National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies, the Left Forum, the US Social Forum, and at over a hundred universities and colleges, including UNAM, the University of Cambridge, UC Berkeley, Stanford, the University of Napoli among many others. Matt Sedillo is the author of Mowing Leaves of Grass (FlowerSong Press, 2019) and City on the Second Floor (FlowerSong Press, 2022) and Mexican Style (FlowerSong Press 2025). All of which are taught at universities throughout the US. Sedillo is the current literary director of The Mexican Cultural Institute of Los Angeles, the National Coordinator for the World Poetry Movement US, and host of Radio La Raza on KPFK. 

Obsidian Tongues

Hosted by the second poet laureate of Pomona, Ceasar K Avelar, Obsidian Tongues is a monthly, community-focused open mic for poetry, spoken word, and storytelling, held on the 2nd Saturday of every month at Café Con Libros and the the last Saturday of every month at Lopez Urban Farm. The event provides a welcoming space for diverse voices and celebrates the working class.

El Martillo Press

Founded by Matt Sedillo and David A. Romero, El Martillo Press publishes writers whose pens strike the page with clear intent; words with purpose to pry apart assumed norms and to hammer away at injustice. El Martillo Press proactively publishes writers looking to pound the pavement to promote their work and the work of their fellow pressmates. El Martillo is the builder of bridges and the destroyer of walls.