Craig Santos Perez is an indigenous Chamoru from the Pacific Island of Guåhan (Guam). He is the coeditor of six anthologies; the author of poetry collections including Habitat Threshold and his ongoing from unincorporated territory series; and the author of the monograph, Navigating Chamoru Poetry: Indigeneity, Aesthetics, and Decolonization. He is professor in the English department at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. Perez has received the National Book Award for Poetry, American Book Award, Pen Center USA/Poetry Society of America Literary Prize, Hawaiʻi Literary Arts Council Award, Nautilus Book Award, and the George Garrett Award for Outstanding Community Service in Literature from the Associated Writing Programs.

"In Call This Mutiny we are introduced to mutiny in the tradition of lament, mutiny in the tradition of remembering, mutiny that guides the reader to a critical understanding of how indigenous resistance and Pacific life continue to survive against the most hostile of forces. These poems are a rebellion that insist not only on survival but on a seeing that exists beyond naming or mapping, a reminder of the interconnectedness of indigenous struggles across the Americas and the steady power of memory. Call this Mutiny teaches us, plainly, that no matter what has occurred 'our wounded places / are the most holy' and it is in that holiness that we revel and thrive!"
--Matthew Shenoda, author of "Seasons of Lotus, Seasons of Bone"

"Perez's newest collection is a refusal, as his title testifies, a mutiny. In baring the wounds of American colonialism, the poems expose the simultaneous brutality against Guåhan's physical environment and the CHamoru spirit, concealed beneath a cover of good will, benevolence, and global security. They bear witness."--Evelyn Flores, co-editor of "Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia"

"In his seventh book of poetry, celebrated Chamoru poet Perez turns his gaze at his island of Guam, and abroad, and back again. Perez employs a variety of forms, including an anagram that converts a rising 'ocean' into a 'canoe' that saves lives, and an abecedarian titled 'ECL (English as a Colonial Language), ' which alphabetizes a concise history of Guam's colonization. . . . Another engaging, timely, and insightful collection from a deeply talented poet."-- "Booklist starred review"

Publisher: Omnidawn

Pub date: 2024-07-06

Length: 72 pages