by Erica Mena
A poet I’ve had the pleasure of working with and translating just won the Premio Nacional de Literatura in his native Dominican Republic. Yay! If you’d like to read some of his work in my English translation: Deus ex machina (at Words Without Borders) Four poems (at Asymptote)
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Dominican Republic, José Mármol, poet, premio nacional de literatura, translation
by Erica Mena
Puerto Rico has a special place in world literature: none. Or almost none. No one knows how to talk about it. It’s part of the U.S., but predominately Spanish-speaking. It’s part of Latin America, but significantly separate because of the U.S. government and economic control. Puerto Rico has been called “the oldest colony in the world.” And what happens in centuries-old colonies is a kind of hybridity and resistance that makes culture hard to categorize, and therefore harder to talk […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: caribbean literature, caribbean wriitng, Dominican Republic, erica mena, hispanic caribbean, José Mármol, literary translation, poetry, Puerto Rico, translation, Words without Borders
by Erica Mena
The “Reflecting on the Spanish Caribbean” Working Group of the Inter University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR), the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute (CUNY DSI) at The City College of New York, and the Instituto Global de Altos Estudios en Ciencias Sociales in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, are sponsoring an international conference entitled “The Spanish Caribbean: Toward a Field of its Own.” The conference will be held on July 25-26, 2011 at the Instituto Global de Altos Estudios en Ciencias Sociales, […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: call for papers, conference, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico
by Erica Mena
Asymptote is a stunning new online journal of literary translation. Their first issue came out in February, and blew me away. And I’m thrilled that four of my translations of poems by Dominican poet José Mármol are included in the new April issue here, along with the Spanish originals and audio of the poet reading his originals. Also in the issue, an interview with the astounding Susan Bassnett, scores of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction and a bunch of reviews and […]
Categories: Poetry, Translation • Tags: Dominican Republic, José Mármol, poetry, translation
by Erica Mena
Ariadna Vásquez Germán (1977 -) has two books of poems, Una casa azul (2005) and La palabra sin habla (2007), and a novel Por el desnivel de la acerca (2005). Her stories have been short-listed for the Casa de Teatro Short Story Prize several times. Her work has been translated into English (a short story in Mandorla, 2010 translated by Janet Hendrickson), and included in an anthology of contemporary Dominican women poets, Safo. http://miercolesitinerantesdepoesia.blogspot.com/2008/05/siete-poemas.html http://www.listindiario.com/ventana/2010/6/25/147841/print http://www.listin.com.do/ventana/2011/2/4/176192/Concursos-de-cuentos-Los-pioneros
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Ariadna Vásquez Germán, Dominican Republic, poetry
by Erica Mena
Aurora Arias (1962-) is a poet and fiction writer, and a member of the “generation of the 80s”. Vivienda de pajaros (poetry, 1986); Piano lila (poetry, 1994); Invi’s Paradise y otros relatos (short stories, 1998) and Fin de mundo y otros relatos (short stories, 2000). Her work is distinctly feminist, and rooted firmly in the urban setting of Santo Domingo (as is true for much of her movement). She is considered one of the most important and interesting writers of […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Aurora Arias, Dominican Republic, poetry
by Erica Mena
Martha Rivera (1960-) is a poet and novelist. One of her novels, I’ve Forgotten Your Name was translated into English by Mary Berg and published by White Pine Press. She belongs to the “generation of the 80s”. She has three books of poetry, which are described as concerned with the “intimate and everyday,” and “closely connected to the body, though the city still occupies an essential space”. Her novel won the Casa de Teatro International Prize in 1995. http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Rivera http://www.cielonaranja.com/rivera.htm
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Dominican Republic, Martha Rivera, poetry
by Erica Mena
Soledad Alvarez (1950-) is a poet and essayist, and part of the “post-war” generation of poets. She has two books of poems, and has edited several anthologies of poems. Her work has been included in anthologies of Caribbean poetry in French and Spanish. Her first book was Vuelo posible (1994), and her second, Las estaciones íntimas (2006), won the 2007 National Prize for Poetry. http://www.baquiana.com/numero_xliii_xliv/S_Po%C3%A9tica_IV.htm http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/item/18538/soledad-alvarez-sus-senas-intimas
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Dominican Republic, poetry, Soledad Alvarez
by Erica Mena
Chiqui Vicioso (1948-) Between 1981 and 2005, Chiqui Vicioso authored 19 books, including five volumes of poetry; five plays; and six essays on women writers, literature, and education—notably Algo que decir (1992) (Something to Declare). And check out this piece on her single book, trilingual poem published in 2007 which sounds interesting. She’s been anthologized in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese as an important Latina and Caribbean writer. She was given the Anacaona de Oro in Literature and the Gold […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Chiqui Vicioso, Dominican Republic, poetry
by Erica Mena
So as I mentioned a few days ago, I’m supplementing the on-the-ground research and study I did in the Dominican because of the after-the-fact realization that I’d fallen into the machismo trap all too willingly. That trap that indicates that you’re not being sexist, there just aren’t any good women writers out there. I balked, resisted, researched, and have very easily found a number of wonderful contemporary Dominican women writers that I’m hoping to acquire books by soon. And here […]
Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Dominican Republic, Jeannette Miller, poetry
Erica Mena