Poetry. In the preface to his first book, a lyrical epic on the violent convergences of colonialisms on Guam (Japanese and American), history, family, and language (Chamorro and English), Perez writes: "On some maps, Guam doesn't exist; I point to an empty space in the Pacific and say, 'I'm from here.' On some maps, Guam is a small, unnamed island; I say, 'I'm from this unnamed place.' On some maps, Guam is named 'Guam, U.S.A.' I say, 'I'm from a territory of the United States.' On some maps, Guam is named, simply, 'Guam'; I say, 'I am from Guam.'" Written in the spirit of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dictee and Barbara Jane Reyes's POETA EN SAN FRANCISCO, Perez's book promises to add significantly to a growing canon of Pacific poetries.

Author Hometown: Berkeley, CA USA



About the author: Craig Santos Perez, a native Chamoru from the Pacific Island of Guahan (Guam), is a co-founder of Achiote Press and author of from unincorporated territory [hacha] (Tinfish Press, 2008). His poetry, essays, reviews, and translations have appeared (or are forthcoming) in New American Writing, Pleiades, The Denver Quarterly, The Colorado Review, and ZYZZYVA, among others.

Reviews:
http://toddswift.blogspot.com/2009/02/guest-review-kennedy-on-perez-and-wood.html
http://stephenvincent.net/blog/?p=767
http://community.livejournal.com/asianamlitfans/57861.html
http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/SMALL_PRESS_SPOTLIGHT_CRAIG_SANTOS_PEREZ/