San Antonio has selected Nephtali De León to be its sixth poet laureate.
De León is a writer, poet and artist, and he accepted his new title with humility.
“I feel very honored and very privileged that this city would consider me with my nonacademic background,” De León said.
The city’s Krystal Jones cited his high writing output and work in the community among the reasons why he was chosen.
De León has Texas roots that range across the state.
“I was raised in South Texas. Born in Laredo, Texas, but did not grow up there. I'm basically a migrant worker,” he explained. “That's really my true background. [I've] picked everything you can imagine — chiles, tomatoes, lettuce, oranges, cantaloupes.”
He also spent 17 years in Lubbock, where he created the area’s first bilingual newspaper. He also opened up a theater. His past as a migrant worker seared itself into his consciousness.
“It hurts me too — to my soul — to see us being treated so roughly and unkindly — called 'aliens,' as if we were from another planet; called 'illegal,' as if being human is illegal,” De León said.
He said he was not interested in drawing lines between peoples. He wants to bring people together.
“I realized that we cannot carry a chip on our shoulders, and we cannot be bitter about whatever life hands us, but rather we must seek to seek the most hopeful, sweeter ways to be humans together,” he said.
“I am so hopeful and joyful that now poetry is something every day is common and wonderful to all of us as a taco or tortilla that we enjoy every day,” De Leon added.
He succeeds Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson as poet laureate on April 1, and a ceremony at City Hall on April 10 will celebrate his selection.
