Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Joe, José Angel Araguz

Faculty Publications

This poem by José Angel Araguz originally appeared in RHINO Poetry and placed first in its 2015 Editors' Prizes.

Gentleman, José Angel Araguz

Faculty Publications

This poem by José Angel Araguz originally appeared in Apple Valley Review: A Journal of Contemporary Literature.

José Angel Araguz comments on "Gentleman":
My father’s death and absence from my life keeps coming up on the page. It is both a talisman that makes me grateful for each day I live as well as a source of wonder and perseverance. Since poems, via white space whether stanza breaks or paragraphs, engage and subsist on the unspoken, it is only natural for this conversation between us to continue.

Our Lady, José Angel Araguz

Faculty Publications

This poem by José Angel Araguz originally appeared in Apple Valley Review: A Journal of Contemporary Literature.

José Angel Araguz comments on "Our Lady":
The vision in this poem really happened; I remember my aunt coming home from a trip to Mexico visibly shaken. I was raised by only my mother and aunt, with my aunt being the hard-nosed disciplinarian. To see her shook up was something new. One detail that lives around the poem but didn’t make it in is that she quit heavy drinking for a while after this incident.

Canicas, José Angel Araguz

Faculty Publications

This poem by José Angel Araguz originally appeared in Apply Valley Review: A Journal of Contemporary Literature.

José Angel Araguz comments on "Canicas":
I fear being one of the last generations to play with marbles. This isn’t a statement of nostalgia or one bemoaning how times change. I mean simply in terms of the reference of the game and the scene. These days, birds fly over our cell phone screens without us noticing.