POETRY

Vera Lorenzo (also known as Vera Escaja-Heiss) began reciting poetry at 10 years old along her mother (proffesor and poet Tina Escaja), acting as her translator and co-reader. In 2018 and 2019 she became nationally known for her bilingual poetry recitations in the Poetry Out Loud competition with the National Endowment of The Arts. She became the state champion both years and went on to place top 9 in the country against over 4.5 million students, and was featured in top news outlets like NPR. After graduation, she became a POL competition judge, and is now on the Vermont Arts Council in collaboration with the National Endowment of the Arts as a committee member. She went on to teach poetry and diversity workshops at the Blanca Burgos Writters Room with 826 Boston. Today, she continues to write and recites locally in the Los Angeles area.