zirconium ash

Centered around loss and death of individuals, relationships, and ways of communicating, the poems of zirconium ash drive at intensified high speed, physically and psychically mapping the geography of the city of Los Angeles. Weaving and zigzagging, mingling grief, sorrow, and lament, the poems haunt and are haunted by the living and dead. The culture of the city and family history often blur in these poems, which can feel in conversation with themselves as well as others-fragmented ghost narratives that lyrically confront history, poetics, and the crimes and unjust actions of government.

Author Biography

jimmy vega is the child of Mexican immigrants, a Chicano Los Angeles poet, educator, and interdisciplinary artist. vega is the author of zirconium ash (What Books Press, 2025). He holds a BA from UCLA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing from CalArts. vega’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Diode, Dunce Codex, Maintenant, and elsewhere. vega is currently the Associate Director of Beyond Baroque Literary / Arts Center. He lives and works in Los Angeles. More @jimmyyvega or jimmy-vega.com