Education
He graduated from Texas State University, on the G.I. Bill, from the State University of New York with an Master of Arts
He graduated from Texas State University, on the G.I. Bill, from the State University of New York with an Master of Arts
In 1963, he was drafted into the United States Army, and spent two years in the Panama Canal Zone. There he became immersed in Hispanic literature, reading Rubén Darío and José Martí. in 1971, and from Boston University with a doctorate in Spanish in 1981. He taught at Wellesley College.
Villanueva currently serves as Senior Lecturer in Spanish, Department of Romance Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston University.
In the early 1970s, Villanueva began publishing his poems a part of The Chicano Literary Renaissance. He writes in both English and Spanish, often switching between the two languages.
He founded Imagine Publishers, Incorporated., and edited Imagine: International Chicano Poetry Journal. His papers are held at Texas State University.