Edgar Silex

Board Member, Indigenous Nations Poets

Edgar Silex is the author of two poetry collections from Northwestern University Press, as well as a chapbook from New Sins Press. His first poetry book, Through All The Displacements was a nominee for the National Book Award, his second book, Acts of Love was a finalist for the National Poetry Series. He has received 11 nominations to the Pushcart Prize, fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Artist District program in Baltimore. Mr. Silex’s work has appeared in Rattle, Callaloo, Slipstream, Chiron Review, The Café Review, The Delaware Review, Gargoyle, The New American Poets, among many others. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Silex's Indigenous ancestors are Texcuexe, Nicarao, and Yaqui. He is in the process of learning Nahuatl, his Indigenous language.

Publications

Acts of Love

Genre: Poetry

Publisher: Curbstone Books

Publication Date: 2004

In his third book of poetry, Edgar Gabriel Silex explores the ways love confronts us. Devastatingly honest, these poems begin with "children transported in confusions of love" and examine relationships within the family and with lovers, and "how our love, for our most precious things, is soiled with our shameful behaviors, by our acceptance of doubt and melancholia." The general movement of the poems is affirmative, traveling from the pain of childhood trauma through understanding to the point where the narrator is able to break the cycle of violence and conclude "we will remember / everything in beauty."

Through All The Displacements

Genre: Poetry

Publisher: Curbstone Books

Publication Date: 1995

In Through All the Displacements, Edgar Silex, a member of the Pueblo Nation, explores the historic and contemporary damage inflicted on Native American peoples. His poems shine with hope and regeneration as he comes to terms with his past, affirming the history and value of Native Amerian culture. His poetry is imbued with honesty, passion, and humor.