Silvester Brito
Silvester John Brito was a Comanche and Purépecha poet and was descended from Comanche and Tarascan people with roots in Mexico. He was born September 26, 1937 in Delta, Colorado and died October 7, 2018 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was an associate professor for the University of Wyoming, teaching anthropology, American folklore studies, Chicano, and religious studies. Brito was a member of M.E.C.h.A. and Keepers of the Fire. He was married to Carol Brito for 56 years and had four children: Desiree, Michael, Juan and Jude. His parents Benjamin and Jessie Brito predeceased him.
Brito had a PhD in Folklore from Indiana University. He had published several books of poetry, Man From a Rainbow, Looking Through A Squared Off Circle, and Red Cedar Warrior, and an ethnography, The Way of A Peyote Roadman. His poetry has appeared in CALLALOO, in the American Indian anthology, Studies In American Indian Literature: Returning The Gift, and in The Blue Cloud Quarterly Vol. 28, No. 4.
