David Perez

David Perez is the Assistant Director of the Society of the Muse of the Southwest (S.O.M.O.S.), a non-profit literary organization serving the written and spoken word in Northern New Mexico. He is a free-lance writer for the Taos News, and provides private editorial assistance on manuscripts of memoir, drama and poetry. He is also an actor, recently appearing in Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre productions in Taos. 

Born and raised in the South Bronx, NYC, Perez spent 12 years as an editor for World View Publishers, writing on world events and domestic socio-economic issues. A writer and editor for Workers World Newspaper and Liberation Magazine, David's own publications include: The Destruction of the Environment; Capitalism and the Natural Order; and The Class Roots of Racism, which was transcribed into audio tape for the communities of New Orleans.

David's writings have been reproduced and excerpted by Earth Island Journal, Because People Matter, and The Worker(London).

David has also been published in a number of magazines and literary journals, including his prose piece about his daughter, "When Dolls Speak",published in the premiere issue of El Andar. His poem, "Ode to Adobo", appeared in Open City: A Journal of Community, Arts and Culture.

After spending decades as a political journalist and social activist, David is now working on a memoir, tentatively titled, "Wow! Growing Up in the South Bronx". He has given readings on this work in New York and New Mexico. A chapter of his book is excerpted in Chokecherries, an anthology of writers in the Southwest.

"My work is memoir: a coming-of-age story about a Puerto Rican boy growing up in the South Bronx; tough times in the 60s. His is a struggle between the brace of school, accomplishments and awards, and the magnetic pull of the street, adventure, rupture.But it's not a story of trial and tribulation. Rather, it is filled with humor: behind the scenes as an altar boy, neighborhood pranks and wild games, chalk-throwing nuns, a family making new roots, the first date! I have given readings in New York and New Mexico, and my first draft is near completion. The feedback has been quite favorable, and I'm raring to go. This residency comes at a crucial moment, to go deeper and layered in a second draft."