photography by Kathryn Mayo

artist . educator . author

josé rivers alfaro is the author of Something More Splendid Than Two published by punctum books press (2022). He is a professor of English and Queer Studies at Cosumnes River College. Both his teaching and research are in the areas of Latinx Studies, Queer of Color Feminism, Dance/Performance Studies, and C19 American Literature.

“A brilliant blend of lyricism and rigorous critique” – Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, author of Children of the Land

“A brilliant blend of lyricism and rigorous critique” – Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, author of Children of the Land

Something More Splendid Than Two

“A brilliant blend of lyricism and rigorous critique, Something More Splendid Than Two seamlessly braids the story of folk hero turned outlaw, Joaquín Murrieta, with a family history’s complicated relationship to language, colonialism, and patriarchy. I truly marveled at alfaro’s uncompromising search for the origin of a wound that has not/cannot heal without a radical, honest, and meticulous reckoning of the failed solidarities between different marginalized people, between the author and their past. The triumph of this story is its testament to the beauty and pain of survival, the lengths we must take to endure.”

– Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, author of Children of the Land

  • "We allow our students to see that they don’t have to divide their identities"

    The Connection, February 28, 2019

  • “I really try to center on the most marginalized students in my class in hopes to create a warm and feminist space in the classroom”

    the connection, October 15, 2018

  • "My mother is the primary inspiration because she gave me the language and courage to begin telling the story"

    the connection, november 20, 2022