Recognized as one of New Mexico's most distinguished writers and officially honored by the state's governor and three of its universities, artist, poet, and historian Angélico Chávez was born 10 April 1910 in Wagon Mound, New Mexico. He was named Manuel Chávez by his parents, Fabián Chávez and Nicolasa Roybal Chávez. In unpublished 1986 correspondence he described his one real distinction as being born "the day when Halley's comet appeared the brightest over our northern hemisphere." He grew up and attended school in the town of Mora, New Mexico. As a boy he loved to read, particularly histories of New Mexico and the great writers of English literature. Although he had never met a Franciscan friar, he was attracted to the order because of its importance in the region's history. He attended St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati and colleges...