Biography
Janel Pineda (she/her) is a poet and scholar of Central American literature. Born and raised in Los Angeles within a family of Salvadoran migrants, her writing explores intergenerational narratives, liberated futurities, systemic critique, and the legacies of the United States–funded Salvadoran Civil War.
Pineda is the author of Lineage of Rain (Haymarket Books) and her work has appeared in various anthologies including Here to Stay: Poetry and Prose from the Undocumented Diaspora, The Breakbeat Poets Vol.4 LatiNext, and The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States. Pineda’s work has been recognized with a California Arts Council Emerging Artist Award, a NALAC NFA Artist Grant, and a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
Since her involvement with the 2018 Radical Roots Delegation, Pineda is a member of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. Pineda is currently pursuing a PhD at UCLA, where her research focuses on global Salvadoran diasporas and the liberatory capacities of poetry for Central Americans.
