Fray Angélico Chávez: Poet, Priest, and Artist

New Mexico's first Franciscan priest, Fray Angélico Chávez (1910-1996) is known as a prolific historian, a literary and artistic figure, and an intellectual who played a vital role in Santa Fe's community of writers. The original essays collected here explore his wide-ranging cultural production: fiction, poetry, architectural restoration, journalism, genealogy, translation, and painting and drawing. Several essays discuss his approach to history, his archival research, and the way in which he re-centers ethnic identity in the prevalent Anglo-American master historical narrative. Others examine how he used fiction to bring history alive and combined visual and verbal elements to enhance his narratives. Two essays explore Chávez's profession as a friar. The collection ends with recollections by Thomas E. Chávez, historian and Fray Angélico's nephew.
Readers familar with Chávez's work as well as those learning about it for the first time will find much that surprises and informs in these essays.

"A wonderful tribute to a great man."--Rudolfo Anaya

"UNM Press is to be congratulated on the publication of this long-awaited work on Fray Chávez. His fiction, his poetics, and his art work are fully detailed by a select group of both young and seasoned scholars."--Rolando Hinojosa-Smith