Poet Martín Espada’s latest work: Unsparing eyes on struggle, courage Martín Espada’s new poetry collection, “Floaters,” looks at the struggles of immigrants, personal and family history, and the importance of preserving stories. Image courtesy Martín Espada Martín Espada’s new poetry collection, “Floaters,” looks at the struggles of immigrants, personal and family history, and the importance of preserving stories. Image courtesy Martín Espada By STEVE PFARRER The title poem of Martín Espada’s new collection, “Floaters,” (W.W Norton & Co.) takes its name, as the poet explains, from the term that some U.S. Border Patrol agents use to describe migrants who drown trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to the U.S.