By Xánath Caraza
What contentment to report on such varying cultural
activities as the visits of James Edward Olmos and Rigoberto Gonzalez in Kansas
City, the presentations of Noche de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poems in Chicago and Wisconsin, in addition
to another in Brazil, and Con Tinta’s celebration of National Poetry Month.
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| James Edward Olmos at UMKC |
James
Edward Olmos in Kansas City brought excitement, energy and friendship. What a pleasure it was to see him in person,
to hear him talk and see him perform his presentation. There is no doubt of his great commitment to
the Latin@/Chican@ community. His
presentation was on Tuesday, April 15 at the University of Missouri-Kansas City
(UMKC) to celebrate Cesar Chavez. Muchas gracias a Erika Cecilia Noguera, Coordinator
of the Division of Diversity and Inclusion at UMKC, for her dedicated work and
for making the Cesar Chavez Lecture possible.
After his UMKC presentation, James Edward Olmos continued his
conversation with the Kansas City community at the Guadalupe Centers, where a
reception in his honor was held.
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| Erika C. Noguera, Coordinator of Diversity and Inclusion |
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| James Edward Olmos at the Guadalupe Centers |
Another
distinguished Chicano writer visiting Kansas City was Rigoberto Gonzalez, American Book Award recipient, on Tuesday, April 8 from 5-8
p.m. at the Student Union at UMKC. His visit was part of Literature for Life
Week. Rigoberto Gonzalez’s reading was followed
by a Q & A and book signing. Several
members of the Latino Writers Collective, Kansas City, attended this important
event.
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| Consuelo Cruz, Jose Faus, Maria Vazquez-Boyd, Rigoberto Gonzalez and Norma Cantu |
Noche
de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poems in Chicago and Wisconsin
Many thanks to my wonderful hosts in
Chicago and Appleton, WI for making the presentation of Noche de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poems possible. Miguel López Lemus and Kapra Fleming opened the
doors of their home to receive the literary and artistic Chicago community on March 27 for an Art Salon. Thank you Chicago for your warm reception and
endless support.
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| Chicago |
Appleton, WI was next on Saturday,
March 29. Several members of the Latino
Community graciously attended the Art Salon for the presentation of Noches de Colibríes: Ekphrastic Poems
hosted by Yasser Bashi and Reme Bashi in their amazing home. I have no words to thank their affable
hospitality. Among the people who
attended the Art Salon was Paco, who I’m happy to say has been present during
all my visits to Milwaukee and Appleton, WI.
I first met Paco in March of 2012 during a Poetry Workshop in Spanish I
gave at Woodland Pattern Book Center. He
then attended my presentation as part of Cantos Latinos in Milwaukee organized
by Brenda Cárdenas. I’m proud to say
that I’ve been following Paco’s development as a poet and will continue
supporting him. Paco is an avid reader
and poet, now a young man, who has graciously read all of my books. So proud of you Paco.
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| Wisconsin |
Brazil
I had the unique opportunity to be
part of the 7th MECA (Muestra de Educación Ciencia y Arte) in
Apucarana, Paraná, Brazil. I had a
couple of presentations, roundtable participation, book presentation, and
classroom visits. My main presentation
was on Estructura de
enseñanza básica en México: formación, práctica y carrera docente, y poesía. Another
highlight of my visit was the opportunity to meet the award winning novelist,
Oscar Nakasato, from Apucarana. I was
able to exchange a few words with him and exchange books. He is the author of Nihon Jin (Benvirá, 2011) winner of the Premio Benvirá de
Literatura. Iguaçu Falls was the last
part of my intense trip to Brazil. I’ll
let the photos speak for themselves. Dr. Barbosa and Dr. De Jesus many thanks for all your support and great organization.
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| Mangoes and Persimmons |
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| Telephone Booth |
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| Las calles de Apucarana |
CON
TINTA NaPoMo 2014
CON TINTA NaPoMo 2014 is here,
send your poem to creativexc@gmail.com and/or mouthfeelpress@yahoo.com
(Mouthfeel Press) y celebra la poesía. This is Con Tinta's third
year celebrating NaPoMo, more to come. Viva la poesía!
Algunos
poemas
Dios mío… Me desmayo!
By Miguel López Lemus
Con tanta competencia es difícil ser poeta
A ver díganme! Cómo competir contra
“Como espuma que
inerte lleva el caudaloso río,
Flor de Azalea la vida
en su avalancha te arrastro”
Me sentaré a pensar con las plumas en la mano
Y las hojas de papel arrugadas en el piso como
hojas de otoño
Acabadas de caer.
Bueno aquí voy:
Dios mío, me desmayo!
La veo venir, se
acerca
Y el zancudo de cupido
me atraviesa su saeta
Dios mío, me desmayo
Que me mira
Se me cierran las
ideas, no pienso, quedo
sin palabras, sin nada
que decir
Dios mío, me desmayo
Me sonríe, me platica,
camina junto a mí
Yo enloquezco, me
derrito como nieve en el calor.
Dios mío, me desmayo
Que me besa!
y yo pierdo la cabeza
que me traigan un
doctor.
Yo pensé que era
invencible
Que mi corazón de roca
Jamás habría de
penetrar
Y ahora sé que no es
de roca
Gelatina, tembeleque,
Nieve de limón.
Dios mío, me desmayo!
Me aprieta!
Y estoy a punto de
decirle
Que la amo
Que es el sueño de mi
vida
Que adoraría tener
muchos hijitos
Que quiero una casa
grande con jardín.
Dios mío, Me muero!
Me dice
“Ahorita vengo
Voy a ponerme algo más
cómodo”
Estoy sudando frío
Me tiemblan las
rodillas
La vista se me nubla
Me peino con los dedos
Reviso mi aliento
entre mis manos
Madre mía, estoy
llegando al fin
Aparece
Envuelta en no sé que
Y yo pienso
Hasta aquí llegaron
tus huesitos
Miquelón
Me decido
Proponerle matrimonio
Bajarle las estrellas
y la luna
Traernos a vivir a su
mamá
Madre mía, estoy
borracho
La belleza me ha drogado
Yo le digo
“Ahorita vengo
Voy por la estrellas
Por la luna por el mar
y por el sol”
© Miguel López Lemus
A LOS POETAS OLVIDADOS
Por Xavier Oquendo Troncoso
A ti León y a ti Paco y a
ti Manuel
Poetas olvidados
A quien el tiempo no dio
tregua.
A ustedes que nadie les da
una efemérides
En el calendario solar.
Y que sólo son culpables de
las letras olvidadas
De las letras sumergidas en
la muerte
Para que pasen madurez en
el infierno.
Para que apenas lleguen a
ser leídos en la calma,
Luego, después de un
homenaje a los poetas oficiales
Ustedes brillen como el
azúcar
En esos días de sol y nieve
y poesía.
Allá, en el infierno,
Allá en el olvido.
© Xavier Oquendo Troncoso
Nobody
Asked Us
By
Sonia Gutiérrez
They had
wished
that their
winged thoughts
would always
be eternally
green.
But nobody
asked us
why we
turned pale
and why our
arms one day
stayed bare.
Nobody asked
us
if we
preferred living
away from
the bullet machines
that rang
our ears.
And now,
they don’t know what will happen
because
nobody asked us,
The Trees, what we felt
or what we
thought.
What I have
always known
is that I
never dreamed
of living
chained to the sulfuric
waste of humanity.
Translation by
Sonia Gutiérrez
*“Nadie nos preguntó” is forthcoming in Revista Ombligo
© Sonia Gutiérrez
En una esquina
Por Gerardo Cárdenas
Los
relojes reventados en diminutos cristales,
detenidos
a horas distintas,
desangrándose
en un torrente de engranajes
como
un toro que embiste los trazos febriles
de
las luciérnagas.
Cruzo
la plaza bajo la mirada de una china
no
oigo lo que dice pero leo en sus labios
mi
locura.
Me
persigue señalándome con un dedo
yo
que sólo quiero recoger los cristales hechos añicos
de
los relojes que agonizan
y
mueren sin descendencia
pero
los pájaros son más rápidos:
se
los llevan
y
los regurgitan en los picos de sus polluelos.
Al
final de la plaza me desplomo
como
un ovillo sin sombra;
las
hormigas se compadecen
me
cubren con una roída manta
para
que nadie mire mis incontenibles temblores.
El
teléfono me urge:
alguien
ha dejado un mensaje
(tal
vez una carcajada o una foto obscena).
La
plaza se vuelve un estruendo de piares
ya
sacuden sus alas de cristal incontables relojes.
© Gerardo Cárdenas
The Disappearance of the Poem
By Mark Statman
For John Yamrus
Happens
Because the
young woman on
the Amtrak
I couldn't figure out
her accent
she told me
Puerto Rico
Really?
It unseemed secretly something else
but she was pretty sure
as she should be
© Mark Statman
