Publications and Specialties

V. writes and teaches on surrealism, mythology, intergenerational trauma, intersectional identities, and living in the "between."

"The first poem of V. Ruiz's debut collection ends, 'Diego, I believe/ I'm in the middle of falling/ and all that awaits me is cold/ hard/ ground.' In a series of ekphrastic poems, What the Water Gave Me documents the speaker delving deeply into the fantastic mind of someone trapped inside a body. Contemplating the life, the art, and the words of Frida Kahlo, Ruiz wrestles lyrically with the limitations of the physical and celebrates the transcendent power of the imagination."

Blas Falconer

Blas Falconer Forgive the Body this Failure

“In their luminous debut, In Stories We Thunder, V. Ruiz builds new myths that feature lessons on both the timeless and the ephemeral—the moon and the jukebox. The ocean and Pedro Pascal. Reading this collection is like looking into a kaleidoscope—there are entire galaxies in this small space, and they change with each new glimpse. ‘We will learn / to find new worlds in the words / we pass on—’ Ruiz writes, ‘in the women we become.’”

Paige Lewis

Author of Space Struck

The brilliant authors herein have spun lush, poetic tales featuring characters and perspectives historically excluded from romance narratives. Through a variety of styles, lengths, and subgenres—ranging from flash-fiction to short stories, speculative to satire to romcom—there is something here for every kind of reader. The lovers in Someplace Generous—whether they are sapphic vampires or undercover super-heroes, teenagers, or middle-aged mamas—choose each other, and along the way, they choose themselves, too.

Someplace Generous: an inclusive anthology

Edited by Elaina Ellis and Amber Flame

Recognitions

Multiple Anthology Publications

Ruiz's work has been Included in multiple anthologies including the 2024 romance anthology Someplace Generous, a themed anthology on water titled Synesthesia and the Magee Park Poet's Anthology.

Jack Grapes Poetry Prize

"In which I make metaphors out of traumas" was chosen as a winner in 2018. Of this poem, F. Douglas Brown writes, " This wonderful poem continuously works to find language even in the event of the horrific or one’s escape from it."

Manuscript Recognition

Ruiz's full-length, In Stories We Thunder was previously a finalist in multiple prizes including the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize and the Tupelo Press Berkshire Prize in 2018. Their chapbooks have been finalists as well with Two Sylvia’s Press Chapbook Contest and the Sunken Garden Chapbook Contest at Tupelo Press.

Multi-Genre Recognition

Aside from poetry, V. has received recognition and publication in multiple genres including creative nonfiction, fiction, and in digital literature.

Digital Lit Recogntion

V. was an invited speaker, and scholarship recipient for their work in digital literature specifically through the Twine platform.

Multiple Publications

Ruiz's work has been published across platforms and in multiple internationally recognized literary spaces including Black Warrior Review, Split Lip, Calyx, the Florida Review, and Fugue.

Contact for Guest Lectures

V. Ruiz has taught creative writing, rhetoric and writing, and generative writing courses and workshops across all age levels.

Reach out below with teaching opportunities.