Between 1969 and 2017, a Spanish immigrant wrote over 150 letters to the editor, guest op eds, and essays that were published in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the News Journal. Every time a piece of writing of his was published, he called his children to tell them he was in whichever paper, and he cut it out and put it in a scrap book. Following his death in October 2017, the collection was passed around from house to house, as his children and grandchildren pored over his ideas and opinions and his distinctive writing style.
English being his second language (among his fluency in 5), he could be difficult to understand in conversation, having a thick northern Spanish accent. Reading his letters, however, his staunch progressive beliefs are clear, cogent, and often times witty. These letters reveal the life of a man who was shaped by his circumstances and turned them into something positive, always seeking for the world to be better.
The inherent fragility of newspaper clippings led me to decide to scan and compile them all, for my own personal records. With a goal of printing enough for my family and extra for the world, I set out to make a book that reflected how amazing, talented, and important Anthony Marquez was.
