Erica Mena

Poet | Book Artist | Translator

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Tag: Puerto Rico

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Mundo Cruel by Luis Negrón, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine

April 1, 2013 by Erica Mena

I don’t read very much fiction nowadays, or at least not very much ‘literary’ fiction, that is, unless I’m translating it. It’s the sad reality of being an overstretched graduate student that I’ve had to narrow my reading down to poetry, contemporary poetry, contemporary innovative poetry, contemporary primarily women’s innovative poetry and even then I have a stack of books I’m unlikely to get through in the next year. Well, sad and exhilarating. But when the advance proof for Mundo Cruel […]

Categories: Reading Journal, Translation • Tags: fiction, luis negron, mundo cruel, puerto rican literature, Puerto Rico, reading journal, seven stories, short stories, suzanne jill levine, translation

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The ignored island(s)

November 28, 2011 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

6

Call for Papers: The Spanish Caribbean

April 18, 2011 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

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History of U.S. Puerto Rico Relations

March 28, 2011 by Erica Mena

This history of U.S. – Puerto Rico relations in one thousand & one words: Vieques

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Puerto Rico

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Alfredo Matilla Rivas (PR Books #8)

February 2, 2011 by Erica Mena

yo no soy novia de nadie by Alfredo Matilla Rivas (Editorial Renopla, 1973). Alfredo Matilla Rivas (1938-2001) was a renowned diaspora poet and playwright, as well as Pedro Pietre’s translator into Spanish. A comprehensive biography for him is here, and they say: “In literature, he published two books of poetry, titled Yo no soy novia de nadie (1973) and Catálogo de locos (1978). In his verses, he used a prosaic tone to describe both the social and political conditions of Puerto Ricans.” He taught […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: Alfredo Matilla Rivas, experimental poetry, poetry, political poetry, Puerto Rico

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Raúl Guadalupe de Jesús (PR Books #8)

February 2, 2011 by Erica Mena

El tierno vidrio de la noche by Raúl Guadalupe de Jesús (Ediciones Huracán, 2006). As a designer, I can’t help but judge a book by its printing (not just its cover) and this book is hard to look at. The font is stylized and sans-serif, the paper glossy and reflective, and frankly the whole thing makes my eyes hurt. I wouldn’t have gotten this book, except it was strongly recommended. The book is a single long poem in sequence, that […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: poetry, Puerto Rico, Raúl Guadalupe de Jesús

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Israel Ruiz Cumba (PR Books #7)

February 2, 2011 by Erica Mena

encuentros de memoria by Israel Ruiz Cumba (Isla Negra, 1996). Israel Ruiz Cumba (1961-) is a professor at St. Mary’s College. His bio is here. He has two published books of poetry, this and a more recent 2007 book called Un abecedario para Eva Leite which also looks interesting. That’s about it, on the web. There is a limited preview in Google books of this book here. For having little to no information available (no reviews, no blurbs, no poems popping […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: poetry, Puerto Rico

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Rafael Acevedo (PR Books #6)

February 2, 2011 by Erica Mena

instrumentario by Rafael Acevedo (Isla Negra: 1996). Moneda de sal by Rafael Acevedo (Fragmento imán Editores: 2006). Rafael Acevedo (1960-) is a poet, novelist, playwright and professor of literature at the University of Puerto Rico. He has six books of poetry and three novels. He was the editor of the journal Filo de juego (1983-1987) which was important in defining the poetic movements of the Generación del Ochenta. His poems have been included in several anthologies of Latin American and […]

Categories: Uncategorized • Tags: poetry, Puerto Rico, Rafael Acevedo

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Karen Sevilla (PR Poets #5)

February 2, 2011 by Erica Mena

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 Erica Mena

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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