Juan Manuel Perez, a mixed blood Mexican-American/Native American poet, is the author of Another Menudo Sunday (2007), the e-book O’ Dark Heaven: A Response To Suzette Haden Elgin’s Definition Of Horror (2009) and six poetry chapbooks, including the horrifically acclaimed Dial H For Horror (2006).
He is also a member of the San Antonio Poets’ Association, The Poetry Society Of Texas, The San Angelo Writers’ Club, and the Science Fiction Poetry Association, as well as, a student to the great Chicano poet Trinidad Sánchez, Jr.
Juan’s current poetry manuscript WUI: Written Under The Influence Of Trinidad Sanchez, Jr. was put together in his honor and will be released by the Winter of 2011.
He has been a featured reader at many poetry venues in Texas and is available for readings out of state as well. Juan writes poetry on a variety of subjects like Mexican-American/Native American life, comic books, science fiction, horror, and food.
His work recently appeared in a major horror anthology, And Now The Nightmare Begins (Bear Manor Media, 2010; edited by Jeani Rector), alongside Ramsey Campbell and Joe R. Lansdale. His work has also appeared in vacpoetry.com, Desahogate, thehorrorzine.com, Boundless, The People’s Comic Book Newsletter, Voices De La Luna, International Poetry Review, Illumen, Star*Line: the Journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, The Poet Magazine, di-verse-city, Voices Along The River, The Dreamcatcher, Inkwell Echoes, The Palm’s Leaf, Message of the Muse and many other local publications like La Voz De Austin and La Voz De Uvalde County.
Juan is a ten-year Navy/Marine veteran and former Combat medic (Hospital Corpsman) serving in the First Gulf War (1991). Presently, he is a public high school history teacher in La Pryor, Texas where he lives.
Aside from poetry, Juan is currently working with an Old West re-enactors group out of Lockhart, Texas under the name LOST HOPE GUNFIGHTERS. He is usually playing a villainous renegade named RED THUNDER alongside his film industry mentor and actor Dean Reading with a few other gunslingers. He already has a few shows under his belt specifically in Austin over the last two years. He has also done some acting on two regional independent films. He had the lead role in El Chisme (2008) as a two-timing husband and a supporting role as a bar bouncer in Donato, King Of The Vampire Drags (2009). Both features were filmed in San Antonio and produced by Glorybridge Productions.
See some work at the following sites:
http://www.thehorrorzine.com/Poetry/August 2009 Poetry.html
http://www.vacpoetry.org/blueberryrain/2010/03/17/doughnuts/#comments
See some articles:
http://www.lapryor.net/vnews/display.v/ART/4bbb758d50a28
Home Site: http://juanmperez.com/