Uxmar Torres stepped into history in 2024 as Joliet’s first elected Poet Laureate, taking on a role that had never existed in the city before. The moment marked both a personal milestone for Torres and a new chapter for the city’s arts community.
For Torres, being selected as the city’s first official Poet Laureate came with immediate excitement and disbelief, especially given his journey into the city.
“I was geeked. I couldn’t believe it,” Torres said. “Especially coming from Chicago and moving to Joliet, I didn’t expect to be embraced like that.”
He earned the role through a competitive process that drew dozens of applicants and narrowed the field to a handful of finalists. The selection process, held at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, included city officials, judges, and residents as each finalist presented an original poem about the city.
Torres’ winning piece, Light O’er the River, came directly from observation and lived moments within the community.
“I was on the Jefferson Street Bridge, just sitting there with my legs hanging over the river,” Torres said. “I started painting a picture of what I could see and hear, not just the history of Joliet, but what it looks like right now.”
From that viewpoint, the poem took shape through real imagery. A mother arriving home from work under the night sky. Children outside catching lightning bugs. Details that might otherwise go unnoticed, but together form a portrait of the community as it exists in the moment.
That focus on capturing real life connects to how Torres first discovered his voice in poetry. His introduction didn’t come from traditional poetry, but from hip hop music and culture rooted in his upbringing.
“I thought I was going to be a rapper,” he said. “That’s how I found poetry through hip hop.”
That connection between writing rap lyrics and discovering poetry became more intentional. What once felt like an expression began to reveal its structure.
“Rap is rhythm and poetry,” Torres said. “Once I understood this, everything started to connect for me.”
Surrounded by hip hop from an early age, Torres saw his role take shape within it. He describes hip hop culture through the four pillars: DJing, graffiti, MCing, and B-boying. With his brothers already active in three of those areas, he felt drawn toward the fourth.
“I had an older brother that was a DJ, an older brother that was a B-boy, and an older brother that was a graffiti writer,” Torres said. “I felt like I had to fulfill that fourth element and be the MC.”
That entry point into poetry led him deeper into writing, and eventually into formal study. Torres went on to study Creative Writing with a focus in poetry at Augustana College in Rock Island, where his understanding of language and structure expanded.
“As I started studying and reading more literature, that’s when my voice really started to feel more refined and turn into spoken word,” Torres said.
That development continues to shape his process today. Rather than waiting for inspiration, Torres treats writing as a discipline, something that requires consistency and practice.
“You don’t feel inspiration every day, but you still have to train that muscle,” he said. “It’s like shooting free throws. If you want to get better, you have to keep practicing.”
Much of his work lives beyond the page. Rooted in oral tradition, Torres memorizes most of his poetry and allows performance to shape how each piece is delivered. For Torres, the stage is not where a poem ends, but where it continues to evolve.
“About 95 percent of my poems are memorized,” Torres said. “Once I start performing it, I’m like, I don’t like how this goes. I gotta change this. A poem is never really finished.”
Since being elected as Joliet’s Poet Laureate, Torres has hosted 27 free events. Notably, he organized a poetry workshop at Washington Jr High School in Joliet. Additionally, Torres delivered the keynote speech for District 86, performing a poem titled “After the Bell.”
Many of the workshops hosted by Torres have taken on a deeper role, offering participants a space to reflect, express themselves, and work through personal experiences.
“There’s always someone sharing for the first time,” he said. “A lot of these spaces become therapy through art.”
Through that work, Torres sees poetry as extending beyond individual expression. It becomes a tool for connection, reflection, and community growth.
“It’s bigger than me,” he said. “It’s about being part of something that can change people, change the community.”
He acknowledges that fear remains one of the biggest barriers for new writers, but believes growth comes from stepping into that discomfort.
“The biggest challenge is overcoming that fear,” Torres said. “You don’t have to be the best in the room. You just have to be willing to grow.”
Uxmar Torres’ upcoming event is “Rock the Mic: Poetry Unplugged,” a poetry and acoustic music open mic hosted at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66. The event will take place on Friday, May 8, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. at 9 W. Cass Street in Joliet. A suggested $10 donation will support the museum, and participants can sign up at the door or in advance by email.
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