Books by David Perez

From the Poet Laureate of San Jose, these poems salvage memories from the wreckage of the Challenger disaster, drink shots with the poltergeist haunting the local dive bar, and resurrect the wisdom in the harsh words of departed lovers.In his debut poetry collection, Love in a Time of Robot Apocalypse, David Perez takes snapshots of a world under collapse to show us the parts worth saving. His images activate a new way of seeing. The mundane is no longer insignificant- the nightmare no longer insufferable. At times, Perez is terse and pragmatic. Love in a Time of Robot Apocalypse beckons us into dark corners in ways that let our eyes adjust, revealing a splendor we would have otherwise surely missed.

It's the South Bronx of the 1960s, a neighborhood teetering on change. The young Puerto Rican boy David Perez is living in the Millbrook housing projects, about to be transferred to St. Luke's Catholic School, where he's already attended catechism and asked if God "e;popped out of nowhere."e;So begins Prez's delightful and engaging "e;memoirito,"e; a novella-like tale that follows Prez playing neighborhood games like "e;Find the Belt"e; and navigating his way through a school populated by a chalk-throwing nun and a trio of desperadoes known as the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. Prez becomes an altar boy for a very novel reason, which eventually leads to his first date. He wants "e;to be a man"e;-even before he's a teenager. Being cool and tough are life's aspirations (or so he thinks), and being the smartest guy in school isn't something to brag about. WOW! adds a fresh chapter to the colorful chronicles of Latinos living in the United States-complex, layered, y lleno de sabor. WOW! was one of the winners in the Comedy Category of the 2012 Latino Books Into Movies Awards. The book was also a Finalist in Multicultural Non-Fiction for the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.