Author

James Perez Viernes is a graduate of the University of Guam with a bachelor of arts degree in English literature. Viernes is currently completing his master of arts degree in Pacific Islands studies at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa under a degree fellowship from the East-West Center.

James Perez Viernes, familian Ginza, Kotla, and Miget, is the youngest of three children born to Andres Santos Viernes and Zita Pangelinan Perez Viernes.

Viernes’ forthcoming thesis, Fanhasso i Taotao Sumay: Displacement, Dispossession, and Survival in Guam examines the eviction of the Sumay people by the U.S. military after World War II and the contributions of these people toward the establishment of Santa Rita village. His research further draws on connections between the displacement and dispossession of the Sumay people and similar experiences throughout Micronesia, including Saipan, the Marshall Islands, Banaba, and Nauru. Viernes has had poetry published in volumes 8 and 9 of Storyboard: A Journal of Pacific Imagery. His current work focuses on the U.S. Naval period and the post-World War II era on Guam, as well as current interactions between Chamorros and the U.S. military.

Viernes is the editor-in-chief of Impulse, an annual journal published by the East-West Center. He is currently a member of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa’s Center for Pacific Islands Studies Executive Committee and is a graduate teaching assistant for the center’s Pacific Worlds undergraduate course.

Viernes has also been instrumental in the Guampedia project as a copy editor and author. Viernes has worked at various private and government agencies including the Pacific Daily News, Health Services of the Pacific, the University of Guam, and the National Family Caregiver Support Program. He is an active member of the Taotao Galaide Outrigger Canoe Club and Our Lady of Guadalupe Santa Rita Catholic Church.