Levi Romero | |
---|---|
Born | Dixon, New Mexico, U.S. | April 5, 1961
Academic background | |
Education | University of New Mexico (BA, MA) |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Architecture Creative writing Chicano studies |
Sub-discipline | Poetry Pueblo Revival architecture |
Levi Romero (born April 5,1961) is an American poet,academic,architect,and lecturer in creative writing and Chicano studies at the University of New Mexico. In 2012,he was named the centennial poet for New Mexico. [1] [2]
Romero was born in Dixon,New Mexico,located in the Embudo Valley. He enrolled at Española Valley High School in Española,New Mexico. He soon transferred to Peñasco High School in Penasco,New Mexico. Romero ultimately graduated from Menaul Boarding School in Albuquerque. [3] After graduating from Menaul,Romero attended the University of New Mexico,where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in architecture in 1994 and Master of Arts in architecture 2000. [4]
Romero has described his upbringing as "communal," noting that the families who inhabited the valley often shared child-rearing duties and other familial responsibilities. Romero's first language was New Mexican Spanish. He subsequently learned English in elementary school. Romero has stated that though he considers himself Chicano,he prefers the term Nuevoméxicano,or "New Mexican." Further,the manito dialect,which is central to the region of Northern New Mexico,colors the bulk of the language seen of Romero's work. [5]
Romero writes almost entirely in free-verse form. He writes his poems in both English and Spanish. His first full book of poetry (In the Gathering of Silence) was published in 1996. By 2010,Romero continued to write on the side while working as a visiting Research Scholar in the School of Architecture and Planning at UNM. [6]
The cultural and geographical landscapes of the Embudo Valley influences many of Romero's early and later works. [7] A notable example is his poem "Tres Copas de Chanate Black and Sweet," which features characteristics of Romero's hometown and the surrounding area. A portion of the poem reads:
"pickup trucks once danced
into the Royal Fork restaurant parking lot
from Gallup and Farmington
slipping through the honeydew
sweetness of ripening September" [8]
A concept that Romero frequently deals with in his poetry is counterculture,primarily that which exists in the Southwest. The primary counterculture Romero examines is the lowrider (lowcura in Spanish). The lowrider tradition is known as a cultural marker in not only the Embudo Valley where Romero grew up,but in multiple places across the Southwest. In brief,the lowrider can be reasonably described as someone who modifies classic cars such that the body of the vehicle rides very close to the ground. Romero considers low-riding as a vehicle through which to express one's identity. This can be seen in the poem "Wheels," which was published in the Gathering of Silence. A particular aspect Romero touches on is the so-called enchantment of the low-ride. [9] He writes:
"how can I tell you
baby,oh honey,you'll
never know the ride
the ride of a lowered chevy
slithering through the blue dotted night along
Riverside Drive Española." [10]
Romero also derives inspiration from the everyday and the commonplace. Many of his poems feature snippets of conversation from strangers or interactions that might otherwise seem unimportant. For example,"Corner of 5th &Central,featured in A Poetry of Remembrance,takes place on a street corner. Romero writes:
"I am on the corner of 5th &Central
albuquerque,new mexico
united states of America
northern hemisphere
the planet is divided up into four quadrants
how I got started carving?" [11]
Romero has cultivated an active interest in filmmaking in addition to his poetry. Similar to his poetry,the focus of his documentaries centers around the cultural landscape of New Mexico and the people therein. One of his documentaries,"Going Home Homeless," won the People's Choice Award at the 2014 Taos Film Festival. [12]
In the preface to A Poetry of Remembrance,Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya wrote:“The spiritual essence of the Rio Grande corridor and its tributaries shines in every poem. From the loco to the sublime,Levi's poems are a blessing on our heads.” [13]
A Poetry of Remembrance was described by the Albuquerque Journal :"Whether recalling a 'love-hate' relationship' with his high school English teacher or remembering a street-corner encounter,Romero sees and hears the courage,grace,honesty,and beauty so many of us often miss. It is the poet's job to remind us of those things,and Romero does this admirably." [14]
In addition to being named centennial poet of New Mexico in 2012,he was named as the state's inaugural Poet Laureate in 2020. Romero received the PBS Bill Moyers Language of Life Award. [15] [16]
A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body that emerged among Mexican American youth in the 1940s. Lowrider also refers to the driver of the car and their participation in lowrider car clubs,which remain a part of Chicano culture and have since expanded internationally. These customized vehicles are also artworks,generally being painted with intricate,colorful designs,unique aesthetic features,and rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires.
JoséMontoya was a poet and an artist from Sacramento,California. He was one of the most influential Chicano bilingual poets. He has published many well-known poems in anthologies and magazines,and served as Sacramento's poet laureate.
Rudolfo Anaya was an American author. Noted for his 1972 novel Bless Me,Ultima,Anaya was considered one of the founders of the canon of contemporary Chicano and New Mexican literature. The themes and cultural references of the novel,which were uncommon at the time of its publication,had a lasting impression on fellow Latino writers. It was subsequently adapted into a film and an opera.
Lewis Putnam Turco is an American poet,teacher,and writer of fiction and non-fiction. Turco is an advocate for Formalist poetry in the United States.
Norma Elia Cantú is a Chicana postmodernist writer and the Murchison Professor in the Humanities at Trinity University in San Antonio,Texas.
JoséAntonio "Tony" Burciaga was an American Chicano artist,poet,and writer who explored issues of Chicano identity and American society.
Dixon is an unincorporated community located in Rio Arriba County,New Mexico,United States,on New Mexico State Road 75,just east of New Mexico State Road 68,in the north-central part of the state,and is approximately 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Taos. The elevation of Dixon is 6,028 feet (1,837 m) above sea level. It is on the banks of the Embudo Creek,a tributary of the Rio Grande. Embudo Creek flows into the Rio Grande two miles (3.2 km) downstream from Dixon. The town is home to the largest population of organic farmers in the state,as well as several wineries.
The Battle of Embudo Pass was part of the Taos Revolt,a popular insurrection against the American army's occupation of northern New Mexico. It took place on January 29,1847,during the Mexican–American War,in what now is New Mexico.
Latino poetry is a branch of American poetry written by poets born or living in the United States who are of Latin American origin or descent and whose roots are tied to the Americas and their languages,cultures,and geography.
Alberto Baltazar Urista Heredia,better known by his nom de plume Alurista,is an American poet and activist. His work was influential in the Chicano Movement and is important to the field of Chicano poetry.
Chicano poetry is a subgenre of Chicano literature that stems from the cultural consciousness developed in the Chicano Movement. Chicano poetry has its roots in the reclamation of Chicana/o as an identity of empowerment rather than denigration. As a literary field,Chicano poetry emerged in the 1960s and formed its own independent literary current and voice.
Juan Felipe Herrera is an American poet,performer,writer,cartoonist,teacher,and activist. Herrera was the 21st United States Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. He is a major figure in the literary field of Chicano poetry.
Leroy V. Quintana is an American poet,and Vietnam Veteran.
Francisco Xavier Alarcón was a Chicano poet and educator. He was one of the few Chicano poets to have "gained recognition while writing mostly in Spanish" within the United States. His poems have been also translated into Irish and Swedish. He made many guest appearances at public schools so that he could help inspire and influence young people to write their own poetry especially because he felt that children are "natural poets."
Vincent Barrett Price is an American poet,human rights and environmental columnist,editor,reporter,publisher,and teacher. His most recent works include the poetry volumes Polishing the Mountain,or Catching Balance Just in Time:Selected Poems 2008–2020,Innocence Regained:Christmas Poems,and Memoirs of the World in Ten Fragments,and the nonfiction book The Orphaned Land:New Mexico's Environment Since the Manhattan Project. He is the co-founder,with Benito Aragon,of the New Mexico Mercury, an online platform featuring news,commentary and analysis from a variety of experts and writers around New Mexico. Since January 2017,the Mercury Messenger has featured Price's online column of politics and the environment. Price has taught off and on since 1976 in the University of New Mexico's School of Architecture and Planning,and as continuing faculty in the UNM Honors College from 1986 to 2014. His seminars range from the classics in translation to modern poetry,urban studies,and New Mexico's environmental history. He is currently an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Leopold Writing Program. In 2021,he received the New Mexico Literary Arts Gratitude Award "for contributions to the life of the poetry community in New Mexico and the Southwest."
Valerie Martínez is an American poet,writer,educator,arts administrator,consultant,and collaborative artist. She served as the poet laureate of Santa Fe,New Mexico from 2008 to 2010.
Margarita Cota-Cárdenas is an American poet and author. A voice for Chicano literature,Cota-Cárdenas is known for her 1985 novella Puppet:A Chicano Novella and her works of poetry. She is a professor emerita of Spanish at Arizona State University.
A Mexican American is a resident of the United States who is of Mexican descent. Mexican American-related topics include the following:
Olivia Romo is an American poet,spoken word artist,and water rights activist from Taos,New Mexico. Her work centers on the cultural significance of water within Northern New Mexico's agricultural communities,particularly focusing on the acequia irrigation system. Romo's upbringing in a family that valued land,culture,and history deeply influenced her creative journey. With a dual degree in English and Chicana and Chicano Studies from the University of New Mexico,she is well-equipped to blend her artistic expression with social advocacy.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: others (link)