Rigoberto González was born in Bakersfield, California and raised in Michoacán, Mexico. He is the author of two poetry books, So Often the Pitcher Goes to Water until It Breaks (1999), a National Poetry Series selection, and Other Fugitives and Other Strangers (2006). He has also written two bilingual children’s books, Soledad Sigh-Sighs (2003) and Antonio’s Card (2005); the novel Crossing Vines (2003), winner of ForeWord Magazine’s Fiction Book of the Year Award; and a memoir, Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa (2006); and a book of stories Men without Bliss (2008).

González earned a BA from the University of California, Riverside and graduate degrees from University of California, Davis and Arizona State University. The recipient of Guggenheim and NEA fellowships, and of various international artist residencies, González writes a Latino book column for the El Paso Times of Texas. He is contributing editor for Poets & Writers, on the Board of Directors of the National Book Critics Circle, and on the Advisory Circle of Con Tinta, a collective of Chicano/ Latino activist writers. González lives in New York City and teaches at the MFA writing programs of both Queens College and Rutgers University—Newark. He has also written for The National Book Critics Circle's blog, Critical Mass; and the Poetry Foundation's blog Harriet.