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Author Archives | Margaret Randall

Margaret Randall (1936) was born in New York City but grew up in Albuquerque and lived half of her adult life in Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua. When she returned to the U.S. in 1984 she was ordered deported under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality's McCarran-Walter Act. The government alleged that her writings, "went against the good order and happiness of the United States." She won her case in 1989.

She is a local poet who reads nationally and internationally. Among her recent books of poetry are My Town, As If The Empty Chair / Como Si La Silla Vacia, and The Rhizome As A Field of Broken Bones, all from Wings Press, San Antonio, Texas. A feminist poet's reminiscence of Che Guevara, Che On My Mind, is just out from Duke University Press, a new collection of essays, More Than Things, is out from The University of Nebraska Press, and Daughter of Lady Jaguar Shark, a single long-poem with 15 photographs, is now available from Wings. Her most recent poetry collection is About Little Charlie Lindbergh (also from Wings Press).

Randall resides in Albuquerque with her partner, the painter Barbara Byers, and travels widely to read and lecture. You can find out more about Margaret, her writings and upcoming readings at, www.margaretrandall.org.

Contact Margaret Randall

A Plethora of Papel Picado at NHCC

15. January 2015

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By Margaret Randall

“Papel! Pico, Rico y Chico," currently on display at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, features a variety of paper artists innovating on this ancient artistic tradition.

Tipping Point?

12. January 2015

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By Margaret Randall

Periodically one nation or group attacks another. The assault can be shocking. The corporate press, eager to sell news, keeps the headlines going as long as possible. Governments and pundits who have the power to use what’s happened in support of their interests, extrapolate from the particular to the general. They spew accusations that instill fear of everyone who shares a racial or cultural identity with the perpetrators. Before we know it the situation escalates, and we may have another Inquisition, Middle Passage, invasion of First Nations, Holocaust, Patriot Act, or rash of police murders of unarmed youth on our hands...

Satire vs. Fundamentalism

09. January 2015

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By Margaret Randall

On Wednesday, January 7, 2015 three armed men burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical paper that has published a number of extreme caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in recent years, some of them frankly pornographic. The men were Muslim fundamentalist extremists, out for revenge. They opened fire on an editorial meeting, killing the editor and several cartoonists. Before the horrific incident was over, 12 people were dead.

In the finely honed spirit of French satire, Charlie Hebdo has been poking what some would term religious fundamentalism’s defensive self-image since 2006...

Alan Turing and the Fear of Difference

09. January 2015

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By Margaret Randall

The Imitation Game brings Alan Turing's heart wrenching story to life and highlights our society's preoccupation with difference, even in the face of brilliance.

Friday Voyage: Bosque del Apache

02. January 2015

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By Margaret Randall

The body language of cranes on display just south of Socorro amidst the myriad shades of New Mexico winter.

“The Lines” - A review

25. December 2014

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By Margaret Randall

Immensity of landscape and reflections of human order in New Mexico-based photographer Edward Ranney's new book of photos of the Nazca Lines. Illuminated with an essay by Lucy Lippard.

The United States and Cuba: A Half Century

19. December 2014

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By Margaret Randall

The United States and Cuba: A Half Century

In light of the recent US declaration to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba, Margaret Randall gives a breakdown of US/Cuba relations from the revolution till now.