E. A. “Tony” Mares

Welcome to "Tony's Cantina," my cantina. I have spent many a good hour with friends, many of them poets, over a beer in a tavern, a bar, or a cantina, where the atmosphere was friendly and the discussions insightful, or so they seemed at the time. Every now and then, I still enjoy these experiences. So my "cantina" is conceived of as a space for reflection and commentary on poetry, fiction, and other literary expressions. I'll try to make my cantina a great place to visit for the poet, and for anyone interested in writing and literature.

Also coming soon will be a section with poems in Spanish and blog discussions in English/​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 cultural doings, 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. Most recently, he has co-authored along with Miguel Montiel and Tomás Atencio "Resolana: Emerging Chicano Dialogues on Community and Globalization," University of Arizona Press, 2009.

Mares' work has appeared in numerous local, national, and international magazines, journals, and anthologies. In addition, he has a doctorate in European History with a special field in twentieth century Spanish history, and he has lectured 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 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.

Since his "retirement" in 2001, Tony continues to write, travel, and participate in select literary events. He was one of the judges for the 2007 and 2008 literary awards for the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. This August he will once again be the writer-in-residence for the University of Oklahoma Summer Program in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Currently, his book-length poem "Conversations I Never Had With Patrociño Barela" is under consideration at a university press.