Maura Harvey

A bilingual poet, author, and artist, Maura has lived in California since 1950. She holds a PhD in Latin American literature from UC Irvine and has taught Spanish for over four decades.

Inspired by her parents’ love for languages and art, Maura has presented poetry readings and art shows in the United States, Venezuela, México and Turkey. 1993 was a year of two publications: Poemas, a bilingual collection, published in Venezuela, and San Dieguito Heritage, a collection of vignettes of San Diego history. A book of both art and poetry, Color Recuerdo, came out in 2024. Maura’s poetry has been published widely and she has served on the California State Poetry Society editorial board since 1999.

Maura’s passion for Hispanic culture began when she was chosen as an exchange student with a México City family and spent teenage summers in the capital city; she has also lived for years in both Madrid and Montevideo. She was a founder of Taller del mar, a monthly poetry workshop with members from Tijuana and San Diego.

She maintains an art studio and collaborates with graphic artists from around the world. In addition to lifelong art studies in California, she studied painting and collage in Aix-en-Provence. She has exhibited in Northern and Southern California, in Victoria, Canada, and held an exhibit of 50 works in Nakkas Gallery, Istanbul, in a 3^rd century Byzantine cistern.

Maura uses colors and words to pay homage to her world, preserve memories and create connections.