Image: Nadia Huggins, untitled, 2005, 16"x12"
This month we present literature from the Caribbean. Writers from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Martinique, and Puerto Rico contribute compelling portraits of their countries and societies. From sober reports on natural disasters and political oppression to antic depictions of sexuality run amok, the pieces collected here testify to the range and vitality of this region's writers. Haiti's Dany Laferrière reports from the rubble of the 2010 earthquake. In an excerpt from his Prix Goncourt-shortlisted novel, Lyonel Trouillot sends a young woman in search of her family history. Cuba's Jorge Olivera Castillo brings a nightmare to life. His countryman Omar Pérez performs a lively regguetón. From Martinique, Suzanne Dracius rides with Amazons, while Johan Moya Ramis struggles with an unruly body part. Évelyne Trouillot gives voice to a madwoman on a turbulent journey. Puerto Rico's Juan Flores presents a tap-dancing sage, while José María Lima speaks from the grave. In poetry from the Dominican Republic, Frank Baez paints a self-portrait, José Mármol communes with nature, and Aurora Arias comes full circle. We trust you'll enjoy this island tour.
The World is Moving Around Me
I understand now that a minute can hold the entire life of a city.
There is No Theorem (A Regguetón)
all things in moderation and the moderation addles.
bilingual
The Other Day After the Rain
He throws the arm with the machete around my shoulders, the edge of the blade scant centimeters from my neck.
bilingual
from “La Belle Amour Humaine”
Now that I no longer see, I see no better use of my presence in this world than to look out the window.
bilingual
Self-Portrait
The neighbors dream of shooting me.
bilingual
Brine, Blood, and Mother’s Milk
I still tremble from the child's furtive attention.
bilingual
Alive or Dead
One of the dogs goes for him as if there were nothing between them to block its way.
Women’s Fantasies
You’ll have no cause for complaint / You’ll be sated
bilingual
Deus ex Machina
Throw the dice, Lord, your turn has inevitably come.
bilingual
The Crane
somewhat drunk he tap dances over the wet cobblestones
bilingual
Invention of the Day
thursday the man who invented death with his blood rested on a rock.
bilingual
From the Grave of My Grave
stalker-yesterday says slowly / my death has not begun
bilingual
Bird’s Nest
the honied bodies of whores / hold all the men.
bilingual
Book Reviews
Anja Utler’s “engulf – enkindle”
Reviewed by E.C. Belli
Utler’s volume snares readers with a haunted, elliptical syntax. The words walk through these poems as in a preserve
Zoran Drvenkar’s “Sorry”
Reviewed by Nina Herzog
Rare is the thriller that surpasses the limits of genre fiction. But Zoran Drvenkar’s Sorry is one such book: a thriller on its face, but also a thoughtful study in guilt and innocence, violence and redemption.