E. A. “Tony” Mares

I'm becoming more comfortable with this web page business, so I'll move away from its formality and make it more relaxed, reflective on poetry, and open to new experience. Soon, with a blog added, I'll be sharing thoughts on poetry and welcoming comments.

I call this space "Tony's Cantina," because a good cantina is friendly and welcoming. I'll try to make my cantina a great place to visit for the poet, the poetry enthusiast, and for anyone interested in writing and literature.

Also coming soon will be a section with poems in Spanish and blog discussions in Spanish. For openers, I consider Spanish a peer language of English Those of us who speak Spanish have been here for years, even centuries, and more of us are coming. If this bothers you, I say: Get over it. We're here. We aren't leaving. So come to our fiestas, read our poetry, enjoy our rich cultural heritage, make friends, and have a good time!

In the paragraph below, where I speak of myself in the third person, consider it a resume and skip it unless you are particularly interested. I'd rather you spent time on a good poem in any language!

E. A.“Tony” Mares is a poet, playwright, short story and essay writer, and a historian who has published three chapbooks, two books of poetry, and one book of translations of the poems of Ángel González. His work has appeared in numerous local, national, and international magazines, journals, and anthologies. In addition, he has a formal academic education and has taught at many colleges, universities, and other educational venues. Mares is Professor Emeritus of English, University of New Mexico, where he taught in the Creative Writing Program. While teaching at the University of New Mexico, Mares had his first experience with networks. He founded and directed what may have been the first university internet outreach program in the United States for mid school, high school, and adult students, called The Writer’s Inn. This network encouraged young writers to develop their skills by placing them in immediate contact with university-based professional writers.

Earlier in his career, Mares’s research and publications reinvigorated the study of Padre Antonio José Martínez of Taos, a key figure in New Mexico and Southwestern history. From the spring of 2000 through the spring of 2001, Mares published a weekly newspaper column in Spanish, “Pláticas Entre Los Trasnochadores,” in the Albuquerque Journal North, Santa Fe, New Mexico.