Dan Vera
| Dan Vera | |
|---|---|
 Dan Vera reading at Iota Poetry Series 20th anniversary. | |
| Born | South Texas |
| Occupation | Poet, Editor |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Latino, Cuban |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Website | |
|
danvera | |
Dan Vera (born South Texas) is an American poet and editor of Cuban descent living in Washington D.C.[1]
Career
Vera is the author of Speaking Wiri Wiri, (Red Hen Press, 2013)[2] and The Space Between Our Danger and Delight, (Beothuk Books, 2009). His manuscript The Guide to Imaginary Monuments was selected by Orlando Ricardo Menes for the 2012 Letras Latinas/Red Hen Poetry Prize.[3] In 2014, he was named one of LatinoStories.com's "Top 10 'New' Latino Authors to Watch (and Read)", calling him "a talented, sophisticated poet who is a master at playing with words".[4]
His work has appeared in Poet Lore, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Notre Dame Review,Delaware Poetry Review, Gargoyle Magazine, Konch, and Red Wheelbarrow.[1]
Vera is poetry editor of Origins Journal[5] and past Managing Editor of White Crane.[5] He publishes other poets through Vrzhu Press and Souvenir Spoon Books. He also serves on the boards of Split This Rock Poetry and Rainbow History Project.[6] He founded Brookland Area Writers & Artists.[7][8]
He also co-created the website D.C. Writers' Homes as part of his effort to get to know Washington D.C.:
I was just really fascinated to discover that writing and writers had existed in D.C. before me. I live in the Brookland neighborhood, and was fascinated to find out that Sterling Brown lived a few blocks from me and wanted to know more about him — that kind of started a progression of interest in writers, playwrights and poets and novelists who called Washington home.[9]
Vera's poetry blends English and Spanish. As he explains:
I love the English language. And I think one of the things that I love about the English language is the permeability of English to not only accept but also struggle with the incorporation of other languages like Spanish. So when I write, I'm constantly going back and forth between these two possible ways of articulating the world around me.[9]
Personal life
He lives in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[7]
Works
Books
- Speaking Wiri Wiri. Red Hen Press. March 2013. ISBN 978-1-59709-274-6.[2]
- The Space Between Our Danger and Delight. Beothuk Books. March 28, 2009. ISBN 978-0-615-25371-8.
Anthologies
- The Queer South: LGBTQ Writers on the American South. Sibling Rivalry Press. September 16, 2014. ISBN 978-1-937420-80-2.
- Divining Divas: 100 Gay Men on their Muses. Lethe Press.
- Gratitude Prayers. Andrews McMeel. February 2013. ISBN 978-1449421762.
- Full Moon On K Street: Poems About Washington, DC. Plan B Press. December 1, 2010.
- Dog Blessings. New World Library. October 1, 2008. ISBN 978-1-57731-616-9.
- D.C. Poets Against The War. Argonne House Press. 2004. ISBN 1-887641-98-X.
References
- 1 2 Dan Vera | Directory of Writers | Poets & Writers
- 1 2 Speaking Wiri Wiri | Red Hen Press
- ↑ Poetry Foundation blog
- ↑ "2014 Top Ten "New" Latino Authors to Watch (and Read)". LatinoStories.com. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- 1 2 http://www.originsjournal.com/editors/
- ↑ Dan Vera biography
- 1 2 Taub, Yermiyahu Ahron. "Poet Dan Vera Finds a Home in Brookland". Retrieved 8 May 2013.
- ↑ "members". brookland area writers & artists. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
- 1 2 Wilson, Jonathan (27 September 2013). "Bookend: Poet Dan Vera Blends Spanish, English Influences In Latest Work". Metro Connection (WAMU 88.5 American University Radio). Retrieved 28 September 2014.
External links
- "Author's website"
- poem on Beltway Poetry Quarterly
- DC Writers' Homes, co-editor with Kim Roberts