Screw The Wall

Praise ForSCREW THE WALL!In Screw the Wall, Juan Manuel Pérez answers the question: what can brown poetry do for you?He does so as he digs in and swings for and at the fences. This book of impactful poetry dealsmainly with barriers-barriers erected by poverty, prejudice, culture, and language; barriersimagined and real; barriers conquered, and barriers left to be scaled. These poems range from thehumorous, to the satiric, to the poignant, to the nostalgic. A few of these worthwhile works mightstrike a nerve or two with their readers, but as Pérez reminds us about the border wall in hispoem A Promising Letter to a Worrisome Trump, 'No need to worry; We’ll get over it!'Likewise, In Screw the Wall Juan Manuel Pérez has hit a home run deep over the wall.Alan Bereckaauthor of The Hamlet of Stittville2017-2018 Corpus Christi Poet LaureateIf you have never heard the poetry of Juan Manuel Pérez then you are in for a treat. You musthear his words, as reading them is not enough. He writes the poems that many are afraid todiscuss. He writes the poems many will hide from. He writes the poems that all need to hear. Hiswords are diverse and full of compassion, but he speaks the hard truths our Nation struggles withdaily.  These truths have divided families, increased the struggles for minorities (which arebecoming the majority), and left those affected silent and waiting for a chance. Pérez offerswords full of insight and empathy and his influences are strong. Malia A. Pérez, Ed.D.author of Everything Depends Upon The Little Things2009-2015 World Book Night Ambassador and Three-Time Teacher Of The YearIn his most recent poetry collection, Screw The Wall! And Other Brown People Poems, JuanManuel Pérez invites us into his soul, beckoning: 'I invite you into my soul / Somewherebetween Texas and Mexico.' And it is in this 'somewhere' where his poetry happens: poetry oflived experience, poetry of place, poetry where 'America is the land of the lost' and the onlything that will shine a light in its dark path is love. This collection is full of 'strong, bronzeChicano poems,' and I am reading.Octavio Quintanillaauthor of Wasted Time2018-2020 San Antonio Poet Laureate 3