W R Rodriguez grew up in the South Bronx. As a teenager he worked in the family's shoe shine parlor on Brook Avenue. That experience led him to write his first book of poetry: "the shoe shine parlor poems et al." Though he moved from The Bronx many years ago, he has continued to write about it. His two subsequent books of poetry: "concrete pastures of the beautiful bronx," and "from the banks of brook avenue" show his fascination with The Bronx and its history. He also wrote articles for The Bronx County Historical Society Journal which are compiled in "The Bronx: Three Memoirs." Each of the articles received the Halpern Memorial Award by the Journal. His third book "from the banks of brook avenue" received the 2018 North Street Book Prize. His poetry has appeared in journals such as: Abraxas, The Critic, Epoch, and The San Pedro River Review. And in anthologies such as: Bronx Accent: A Literary and Pictorial History of The Bronx, Connections: New York City Bridges in Poetry, and The Party Train: A Collection of North American Prose Poetry.