Emmy Pérez is a Chicanx poet and writer originally from

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

, United States. She was a recipient of a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Poetry Fellowship in 2017. She has lived in the borderlands of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

since 2000, where she has taught creative writing in college and MFA programs, as well as in detention facilities and as part of

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

projects. Her latest collective is Poets Against the Border Wall. She was also a fellow (2010–12) and organizing committee member of CantoMundo (2018–19) and is a long-time member of Macondo Writers Workshop. She is best known for her collections, ''With the River on Our Face'' and ''Solstice''. She received the 2009 Alfredo Cisneros del Moral award for her writing, an award started by

Sandra Cisneros Sandra Cisneros (born December 20, 1954) is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel, ''The House on Mango Street'' (1984), and her subsequent short story collection, ''Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories'' (1991). Her wo ...

. Previously, she received the James D. Phelan Literary Award from the

San Francisco Foundation San Francisco Foundation is a San Francisco Bay Area philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with ...

. In 2019, she was named the Poet Laureate for Texas for 2020. She began her stewardship in March 2020.

Biography and reception

She graduated from

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

with an undergraduate degree, and received her MFA from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She teaches at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley where she is a full professor. She is also the associate director for the Center of Mexican Studies. When she was named Poet Laureate of Texas for 2020,

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

John Cyrier said: "The great talents of the 2019-2020 State Artists, along with all of those who were nominated, help contribute to a distinctive cultural identity that makes Texas a great place to live, work and visit. It is important that we celebrate the distinguished career achievements of these artists which have enhanced the lives of so many.” She has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and fellowships, including, but not limited to: the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the Ucross Foundation.

Bibliography

Pérez has written two books, ''With the River on Our Face'' and ''Solstice.'' ''With the River on Our Face'' is a poetry collection book written about Texas' Southwest borderlands. Each poem in the book talks about the life in the south borders of Texas along the

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

and how lives are affected by politics and global forces.

Works

Collections * ''With the River on Our Face'' Tucson : The University of Arizona Press, 2016. , * ''Solstice'' Sacramento, CA : Swan Scythe Press, 2011. , Poems * o Strawberry Moonfrom Poem a Day with audi
No Strawberry Moon
*Not One More Refugee Death at the Poetry Foundation website
Not one more refugee death
*Downriver Río Grande Ghazalion from ''With the River on Our Face'
Downriver Río Grande Ghazalion
*Halladay Street from ''Solstice'

*NEA for Poetry List 201
NEA fellows
* Texas Poets Laureate lis
Texas poets laureate
* CantoMundo Organizing Committe
CantoMundo
* Alfredo Cisneros de Moral Writing Award 200
Cisneros Writing Award 2019

References

External links

*
Breaking Open Gates: A Conversation with Emmy Pérez
''World Literature Today'', January 2018 * Poetry Against the Border Wall:

Aracelis Girmay Aracelis Girmay (born December 10, 1977) is a poet, teacher, and editor. Girmay also works with collage and essays, and has collaborated with film and sound artists. She is the author of the poetry collections ''the black maria'' (2016), ''Kingdo ...

and Emmy Perez in Conversatio
Arizona Press Poetry Against the Border Wall Aracelis Girmay and Emmy Pérez in Conversation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Emmy American women poets Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women