Ricardo Ruiz never imagined his late-night writing sessions, often done alone after his family had gone to bed, would lead to an award-winning poetry collection. As he worked on the project, Ruiz struggled with self-doubt and wondered if he could truly honor the stories he was telling.
“I often felt like an imposter, and sometimes I just wanted to give up and go back to driving a combine,” Ruiz said.
His collection, We Had Our Reasons, captures the stories of friends and family members who left Mexico to settle in a remote community in the U.S. Ruiz, a first-generation Mexican-American, grew up in Othello, Washington, as the son of potato factory workers. He didn’t learn English until he was in elementary school, and many of the individuals whose stories are featured in his book are Spanish-speaking laborers like his parents.
One of these storytellers is Abigail, a member of Ruiz’s former church. “Her story is valuable and deserves to be told,” Ruiz said. He viewed his role as a poet as a way to elevate voices that might otherwise go unheard.
We Had Our Reasons won the 2023 Washington State Book Award and has been praised for its powerful and evocative content. But Ruiz is quick to share credit for the collection’s success. Each poem in the book is co-authored with the person whose story it tells, with bylines like “Lorena and Ricardo” and “Francisco and Ricardo.” Ruiz emphasizes that the stories belong to the people who lived them.
The relationships Ruiz built with the storytellers over the years allowed for authentic, meaningful interviews. One contributor, Patty, had known Ruiz for nearly 20 years before participating in the project. “The interviews were just conversations with friends,” he explained. The years of trust between them made it possible to record their experiences honestly.
The poetry collection is published in both English and Spanish, a decision Ruiz felt was essential. He wanted the final work to be accessible to the community that inspired it. “It was absolutely necessary to have the entire collection translated,” he said. “This book belongs to the community that gave it life.”
Ruiz’s interest in his own family’s history sparked the idea for the project. Growing up, his parents rarely talked about their journey to the U.S. or the hardships they faced. “I thought it was unique to my family, but I realized many families don’t talk about these traumatic events,” he said. Through the collection, Ruiz hopes to preserve these stories for future generations to understand the sacrifices made by their ancestors.
Though his teenage children are focused on typical activities like sports and video games, Ruiz wants to ensure that when they’re ready, they’ll have access to the stories of their heritage. “I want them to live in their world, but also have these conversations available when the time comes,” he said.
Ruiz will present excerpts from We Had Our Reasons at a free public reading at the Lewis-Clark State College Center for Arts and History in Lewiston, Friday at 7 p.m.
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