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Featured Writer
By Ekiwah Adler Beléndez

“I think that what poets do is decipher silence.”

Ekiwah was born on September 14, 1987 in Amatlán, a small town in Mexico. With an American father and Mexican mother, Ekiwah is both bi-national and bilingual. He was born very prematurely, and as a result of anoxia at birth acquired cerebral palsy. Muscle spasms do not allow him to walk by himself, although he has excellent control of his arms and hands and his speech and intelligence are intact. Because of intensive therapy programs, Ekiwah has primarily been home-schooled. Around the age of 10 he began to write poems and short stories without any formal education on the subject. His writing is inspired by intense observations combined with a relentless imagination. Since he first began to write, Ekiwah has published three books of poems: Soy (I Am), Palabras Inagotables (Never-Ending Words), and Weaver. He has given readings at dozens of schools in Mexico and was awarded an Honorable Mention for the Premio Nacional del la Juventud (National Youth Prize) in Mexico.

Over the past few years, Ekiwah developed severe, pronounced scoliosis, which required major surgery. This took place on December 15, 2004 at the Hospital for Hip and Joint Diseases of New York University. Impressed by Ekiwah’s talent as a writer, three doctors, Dr. Roy Nuzzo, Dr. David Feldman, and Dr. Tom Errico, donated their services to perform the surgery. The story behind Ekiwah’s surgery and his writing was recently featured on a “Dateline” special on NBC. The poems displayed here are a small selection of works from Weaver, Ekiwah’s latest book. His essay "Poetry: movement and immobility" talks about his development as a writer and its connection to his disability. At present, he is experimenting with playwriting and has written three plays so far.

For more information on Ekiwah, please visit his website at www.ekiwah.com.