“Víctima del terremoto del amor y la pasión”: The Homoamorous Poetry of Francisco X. Alarcón (1954–2016)

This essay examines Poet Francisco X. Alarcón’s artistic expression of romance for gays within Latino communities. This study advances the concept of a “homoamorous” genre that privileges intimacy and romance between gay men without sensationalizing the physical contact such relationships may include. It also traces the evolution of Alarcón’s expression of his gay identity over the course of three decades from verse that centered upon loneliness and guilt, through a period of “liberation” poetry, and ultimately to a long and very productive period resulting in a body of work that captures the love and sexual satisfaction that can grow from a committed relationship. These periods are marked by different imagery, language, and poetic structure.