E. Rowan Mena

Karen Sevilla (PR Poets #5)

February 2, 2011 by E. Rowan

El mal de los azares by Karen Sevilla (Sótano Editores, 2010). The first woman in this list, and looking through the books, the only female poet I snagged. However, I only bought two works of prose, both by female authors, so I guess that sort of makes up for it? Ok, ok, I’ll do better next time. Gah. So Karen Sevilla (1983-) has her own very active blog here. She’s currently a grad student studying creative writing in Spanish at […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: poetry, Puerto Rico

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Marcos Pérez Ramírez (PR Books #4)

February 2, 2011 by E. Rowan

Alejandría by Marcos Pérez Ramírez (Terranova, 2006). Marcos Pérez Ramírez is a young poet, journalist, and screenwriter. He wrote the script for the 2003 documentary “Vieques en el espejo de Pánama”, which won an Emmy (and can be seen here.) His poems have been published in journals, and he was one of the Puerto Rican poets included in the Antología de la Poesía del Siglo XXI ed. Julio Ortega (on Google books here). This is his first book. And that’s really […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Marcos Pérez Ramírez, poetry, Puerto Rico

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John Torres (PR Books #3)

February 1, 2011 by E. Rowan

Fiebre de Fresno by John Torres (Terranova Editores, 2009). Available here. John Torres (1977-) is a young, contemporary poet, therapist and professor. His first book, Fracturas del Devenir, was published by Isla Negra in 2006 (reviewed here). This is his second collection. What’s interesting is that with younger poets like John, they’re all over the web. The first poet in this series, though more established, had very limited web presence. Of course, with younger poets, it’s more or less the same stuff […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: John Torres, poetry, Puerto Rico

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Spam Poem #5

February 1, 2011 by E. Rowan

Span Poem #5 Stop Emailing me Stop wasting time flirting with the ladies Find out about Graduate Admissions We grant loan to people at two percent If you want to enlarge penis size Butts that look awesome I as well conceive thus, perfectly pent post!

Categories: Poetry • Tags: spam poem

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Néstor Barreto (PR Books #2)

January 31, 2011 by E. Rowan

Sí by Néstor Barreto (Terranova, 2006). Néstor Barreto (1952—) is described on one of his online bios as a heuristic poet, a word I had to look up. It means experimentally inventive, something to do with trial and error more or less, and that seems to be a great description for this poet. He has five books of poems currently available (this is the latest) and one forthcoming from a series called Colleción Maravilla (book trailer here). He’s the founder of […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: experimental poetry, poetry, prose poetry, Puerto Rico

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Spam Poem #4

January 30, 2011 by E. Rowan

Over the past few weeks my spam has trebeled, at least. My husband, who writes this awesome blog, and teaches media arts and digital literacy, said to his class not too long ago: If you’re getting a lot of spam, it’s because you’re sticking your email address where it doesn’t belong. Following that innuendo, spam is the syphilis of the internet. It spreads easily through unprotected email use, and eventually makes you crazy. So while I was trying to figure out where […]

Categories: Poetry • Tags: spam poem

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Spam Poem #3

January 28, 2011 by E. Rowan

(no subject) good evening websit Stop being a nervous wreck I will like you to accept this token So hard you can break an egg hoping you will understand my point this is not a myth Every person dreams about meeting someone

Categories: Poetry • Tags: spam poem

José María Lima (PR Books #1)

January 28, 2011 by E. Rowan

Rendijas by José María Lima (Cuadernos La Torre, Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 2001). There is a preview available on Google books here. José María Lima (1936-2009) was a poet, mathematician, painter, Marxist, activist and professor. The bulk of his work remained unpublished until the end of his life, when the University of Puerto Rico commissioned the selection and publication in 2001 of this book , Rendijas [roughly Slits or Cracks or Gaps]. His first poems were published […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Clemente Soto Velez, Francisco Matos Paoli, José María Lima, poetry, Puerto Rico

Travel Report: Books from Puerto Rico

January 27, 2011 by E. Rowan

I just returned from several weeks of travel which took me to three major Latino Caribbean cities: New York, San Juan and Santo Domingo (in order of travel, not importance). Part of the trip was to visit family and introduce my husband to the tradition of the Tres Reyes Fiesta (kind of a big deal for my family in Puerto Rico). Part of the trip was funded by a generous grant from the University of Iowa Study Abroad Office to support my […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: poetry, Puerto Rico, travel

Responsible Writing

January 26, 2011 by E. Rowan

I’ve been thinking, and talking, a lot about political poetry. It’s something I’m deeply interested in – which I often find at least on the surface conflicting with my interest in experimental literature. They seem to occupy different ends of a spectrum. Poetry that is politically and socially engaged tends towards directness, clarity of expression and obvious subjects of engagement. Poetry that is experimental tends towards obscurity, complex and convoluted expression and abstracted subjects of engagement. Do they ever meet? […]

Categories: Poetry • Tags: Alain Badiou, experimental poetry, political poetry

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