Requiems, unravellings, the meaning of “natural” and “native: An interview with poet Ina Cariño

Ina Cariño won the 2022 Whiting Award for poetry. Their work appears in the American Poetry Review, the Margins, Guernica, Poetry Magazine, Poetry Northwest, the Paris Review Daily, New England Review, and elsewhere. She is the winner of the 2021 Alice James Award for Feast, published by Alice James Books in March 2023. Reverse Requiem, their most recent collection, was released in April 2026 (Alice James Books). Robert Francis Flor: Reverse Requiem is a stunning poetry collection. I want to delve into your work, but before that, would you tell our readers about your journey to become a poet? Ina Cariño: I was born in Baguio City in the Philippines, where I lived until I was about 11, and which is known as an artists’ haven. My mom, Luisa A. Igloria, is a prolific poet and creative writing professor—she’s been teaching in various capacities for over 40 years—and she also served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia for a term.

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