Richard Perez

Richard Perez is an Associate Professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, part of the City University of New York (CUNY). He specializes in U.S. Latino/a, Caribbean, and Postcolonial literatures, directing the college’s minor in U.S. Latinx Literature. His research focuses on negative aesthetics, magical realism, and the intersections of ethnicity and form in literature.

Education: PhD from CUNY Graduate Center and BA from New York University. He has received prestigious awards including the Andrew Mellon Foundation Fellowship and CUNY’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2013). His edited works include The Palgrave Handbook of Magical Realism in the Twenty-First Century and Moments of Magical Realism in U.S. Ethnic Literatures.

Research interests emphasize the transformative potential of magical realism in global contexts, decolonial memory, and the ethical dimensions of ethnic narratives. His publications analyze authors like Junot Díaz, Toni Morrison, and Piri Thomas, exploring themes of transnationalism, trauma, and identity.

Professional contributions include co-founding the Biennial U.S. Latinx Literary Theory Conference and serving on editorial boards such as Centro Journal for Puerto Rican Studies. His current projects include Towards a Negative Aesthetics: U.S. Latinx Fiction and the Remaking of American Literature.