Good evening.
David Dominguez was born and raised in Fresno, California.
He was educated at California State University, Fresno,
and the University of California, Irvine,
and received his MFA from the University of Arizona.
His chapbook "Marcoli Sausage" was published
by the Chicano Chapbook Series.
He has also been published in various magazines and journals,
such as Faultline, Crab Orchard Review, Luna,
Bloomsbury Review, and Solo.
In addition, his poetry appears in the anthology, How
Much Earth: The Fresno Poets.
He has taught at Long Beach City College
and now teaches writing and literature
at Ridley College in California's San Joaquin
Valley.
Dominguez's book Work Done Right is
the story of a young man named Abraham Tovar.
He works in a sausage factory and seeks
to find his personal place, his own history.
Through vivid imagery and rich language,
Dominguez explores the human condition
through juxtapositions between nature and human,
inducing a longing for what is familiar.
It asks of the reader, who has wanted
to accomplish more in life.
Work Done Right is where vivid life
is discovered in the mundane.
In the unraveling narrative, true meaning
appears when desire meets the unexpected.
Abraham discovers himself in slender hands,
grinding pork, missing fingers, a red pickup truck, a Magnolia
tree, and repaired railroads.
In Dominguez's poetry, the human spirit
is defined in both tender and rustic moments.
He artfully crafts a union between simple and boundless
ideas.
The reader celebrates along with Abraham's revelations
because, indeed, the reader experiences a personal victory
as well.
Through the Spanish language and cultural elements,
Dominguez requires multilayered meaning in each word.
His images offer hope in oneself,
that the body can replenish all that the world has taken away.
Honoring place and peeling away judgment on employment,
relationships, and heritage, Dominguez
accomplishes a poetic journey that must be taken.
It is my pleasure to introduce David Dominguez.