SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio teacher published his first book 30 years after he abruptly stopped writing due to discouragement and bullying.
Victor Huron is an IT Technology Applications teacher at the Harmony School of Excellence but he’s also a talented poet though it's not something he brags about.
Huron began writing when he was a young adult in his 20s. He said he would hear a song or see something out in the world and the words would immediately flow into his mind.
In 1997 he regretfully stopped writing after he received what he calls “bad advice.” Huron grew up in the Edgewood Independent School District and admitted he showed the wrong people his poems.
“It was frowned upon for a male to be writing so I destroyed them,” Huron said.
Huron said he usually doesn't let stuff bother him but for some reason those words affected him so he turned away from his talent but that all changed in 2023 when his dear friend Cynthia got him writing again.
“If it wasn’t for her. I would have never written,” he said.
Huron said he had found an old poem in a drawer and transferred it to his phone. While waiting to meet his friend Cynthia for drinks Huron pulled out the poem and tried to fix the rough draft.
“I was wondering after 30 years if I could do it again,” he said.
He fixed the poem and showed Cynthia who was surprised and skeptical of her friend's writing so she challenged him to write a poem using her name as inspiration.
Huron let the words flow and quickly had a poem which then turned into another and another until he had a binder stuffed with poems.
“The words just come. I can’t tell you where I get the words from,” he said.
Huron said you’ll usually find him listening to music while he's writing. He said he suffers from tinnitus or ringing in the ears and needs background noise to concentrate.
Huron at first printed out his poems and a correlating picture on cardstock before laminating it and placing them in a binder.
About 5 months ago several people told him to turn the poems into an actual book but Huron was apprehensive.
“I didn’t think I was good enough for it,” he said.
After a couple of weeks Huron reached out to a publisher in February and was able to publish "My Writings: Exploring People, Places and Events Through Poetry."
“I wasn’t planning to make a book. I wanted to make copies and just pass them out. I was giving them as gifts,” he said.
Huron said he wrote a few poems for specific people in his life and plans on gifting the book to those special few.
“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have those poems," he said.
His poems focus on current events, people in Huron’s life, and the world we live in. The poems can convey different types of feelings like joy, sadness and sometimes anger.
“I write what I know. I write what I see. I’m all into the news. I like reading articles,” Huron said.
He said some of his writings relate to real-world problems like homelessness, the treatment of others, and life and death.
Huron said readers will notice how the book ebbs and flows from positive to negative poems in an effort to show how life can be - relating to the tree of life on the front cover.
“You get that one life it’s your choice on how you deal with it. And these are all examples of what I saw in life," he said.
Huron said most people have given him positive feedback relating to the book but admits he has gotten some critiques. Some people told Huron his writings can be quite dark but he argued that lots of famous writers write about hard-hitting issues.
“What did William Shakespear do? He killed Romeo and Juliet, didn’t he? So, what’s wrong with me doing it in a poem?," he said.
Huron says it takes him anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours to draft a poem but he pushes himself to explore formats, stanzas, and the use of letters.
“I challenge myself sometimes,” he said.
Huron remains humble in his accomplishment with supportive and proud family members and friends.
“I’m going to put it on my shelf and see that I accomplished this. I enjoyed it. It’s not something I’m going to brag about. It’s something I was going to do and keep it for myself,” he said.
Huron said he is happy he tried and succeeded in publishing the book – a gift he gave himself for his birthday.
“I’d rather try than not try at all for trying will get me somewhere and not trying will get me nowhere,” Huron said. “So I tried and it got me somewhere.”
Huron said he wants to inspire his students to reach for their own dreams no matter how impossible they may seem.
He said you don't have to be the smartest and brightest student to succeed, you just have to put your best foot forward and try your hardest in everything you do.
He said he recently wrote a recommendation letter for a former student which helped her receive a biology scholarship. He said the students' mother later sent him a message thanking him for the letter.
Huron plans to continue teaching in San Antonio and shaping young minds.
He dedicated his book to Cynthia, his mom, and his father - who passed away.
Huron is currently working on his second book.
You can purchase his book from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
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