About a month ago, Miami University welcomed me as a guest speaker for the Cesar Chavez Day Celebration. Today, I am thrilled to share this article by Lindsay Douglas -- UniDiversity Student Ambassador -- with her reflections on this experience.
I don't need to tell you how special this is to me.
Click on the image to read the article.
Like every year, National Poetry Month arrives for all those who, in the United States, enjoy writing and reading poetry. Libraries and cultural centers are filled with books and mentions of poets, and with the poets themselves carrying out readings, conversations, lectures, or book signings. Social media is filled with well-intentioned writing challenges (a poem a day, for example) and quotes from well-known or very obscure poems. Whoever is dedicated to poetry in this country is, of course, very busy in April.
These are all public and necessary celebrations of an art that, like any other spiritual exercise, is done primarily in privacy. I mean by this that, even if one writes or thinks about poems in the company of others at a university, a literary workshop, or a writing retreat, the poetic experience is an essentially individual, intimate endeavor. That is why I want to talk briefly about some issues that poets, readers, and cultural institutions of all kinds should consider during these celebrations.
Supporting Poetry
A great way to support poetry is to pay poets for what they do, even if the amounts are just a token of appreciation. Sadly, many cultural institutions think they are doing the poet a favor when they ask her to read or talk for free. They have been kind enough to receive the artist, show her work, and hive her a space, but in reality they are the ones who receive the favor of the poet's time.
Institutions that do not offer payment for the poet's work must be, at least, aware that it is no honor for anyone to work for free, and that they are the ones who should feel indebted and grateful. That is why such institutions must, at least, take care of giving said poet all possible promotion, and treat her with respect. Every April, poets take the risk of filling themselves with unpaid work. Sometimes, of course, they have to do it. But nobody should do it too many times.
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Como cada año, el mes nacional de la poesía llega para todos aquellos a quienes, en Estados Unidos, gustan de escribir y leer poemas. Las bibliotecas y centros culturales se llenan de libros y menciones de poetas, cuando no de los poetas mismos llevando a cabo lecturas, conversaciones, conferencias, o firmas de libros. Las redes sociales se llenan de bienintencionados retos de escritura (un poema diario, por ejemplo) y de citas de poemas muy conocidos o muy oscuros. Quien se dedica a la poesía en este país está, por supuesto, muy ocupado en el mes de abril.
Todo esto son celebraciones públicas y necesarias de un arte que, como cualquier otro ejercicio espiritual, se realiza fundamentalmente en la privacidad. Quiero decir con esto que, aunque uno escriba o piense en poemas en la compañía de otros en una universidad, un taller literario, o un retiro de escritura, la experiencia poética es esencialmente individual, íntima. Por ello quiero hablar, aunque brevemente, de algunas cosas que creo que los poetas, lectores, e instituciones culturales de todo tipo deben tomar en cuenta durante el mes de abril.
Una muy buena manera de apoyar a poesía es pagarle a los poetas por las cosas que hacen, incluso si las cantidades son simbólicas. Tristemente, muchas instituciones culturales piensan que cuando un poeta se presenta gratuitamente en su recinto, han sido ellas quienes han hecho el favor de recibir al artista, de mostrar su trabajo, de darle un espacio; cuando en realidad son ellas quienes reciben el favor del tiempo del poeta.
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On April 18, 2023, the Mercantile library hosted this wonderful poetry reading and conversation, to celebrate National Poetry Month.
In words of my friend--and current Cincinnati Poet Laureate-- Yalie Kamara:
"Cincinnati boasts a poetry community that is diverse, alive, sensitive to the vibrations of humanity, the living world, and history. This is was so beautifully displayed in the works of poets Felicia Zamora, Kristen Renzi, and Manuel Iris who I had the pleasure of reading alongside—thank you for gracing us with your art, hearts, and minds! I am grateful too to the @themercantilelib for attending to every wonderful detail of this evening and our fabulous virtual and in-person audience whose presence was palpable, engaging, and encouragingly. It’s a very beautiful thing to have a room full of people show up for a Tuesday night poetry event and even more spectacular that they wanted to stay and chat with the poets and each other half an hour after the close of the event. Poetry lives and gives and lives in Cincinnati. (Pictures by Amy Hunter and Felicia Zamora.)"
I am very thankful for having been part of such a moving event.
If you are in Columbus, Ohio, today and tomorrow (April 21 and 22nd of 2023) please come to listen to some poetry and conversation with me.
Today at 7:00 pm
Poetry Reading - Manuel Iris at Streetlight Guild as part of the preparations for the Ohioana book fair.
Then, tomorrow at 4: 30 pm, I will be the final act at the Poetry Room of the 2023 Ohioana Book Festival.
I am happy and honored by both invitations. Friends in Columbus, see you there!
Last week, I had the honor of being part of the celebration of Cesar Chavez Day at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio.
It was a great experience not only because both events were full (I gave a writing workshop to more than 65 people, and a very well-attended lecture/poetry reading), but because I found in the audience several of my former students, coming back for more Dr. Iris’ talking after several years. That warmed my heart. Some of these pictures were taken by them.
Este post es para contarles algo que jamás me hubiera imaginado. Lo hago rápido: Hace 19 años yo era un muchacho que acababa de publicar un libro que le llevó dos años escribir. Era un libro de poesía para niños titulado “Versos robados y otros juegos”, al cual todavía le tengo mucho afecto. En dicho libro, el último poema (que le da título al libro) habla de un elefante escondido detrás de una margarita. El texto va acompañado de una ilustración muy bella y sencilla, hecha por mi amigo Edilberto Barrero.
Ese libro, que tuvo dos ediciones, fue leído por muchos niños en Yucatán. Una de esas niñas, llamada Natalia, es ahora una joven adulta, y hace unos días se hizo un tatuaje con esa ilustración, porque el poema resuena todavía en su corazón y su cabeza. Veo las fotos y no las creo. Agradezco mucho que me las hayan enviado.
Estados Unidos, abril es el mes nacional de la poesía y yo lo empiezo así, porque la poesía también es eso: un abrazo que llega cuando debe llegar.
Salud, amigos.
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19 years ago, I published my first book. It was a children's book called "Stolen Verses and Other Games," which I still hold dear. In said book, the last poem (which gives the book its title) talks about an elephant hiding behind a daisy. The text is accompanied by a wonderful and simple illustration by my friend Edilberto Barrero.
That book was read by many children in Yucatán. One of those girls, named Natalia, is now a young adult and, a few days ago, she got a tattoo with that illustration because the poem still resonates in her heart and mind. I see the photos and I can't believe them. Thank you very much, Natalia, for sending them to me.
Queridos amigos, me alegra mucho decirles que mi libro “Los disfraces del fuego”, que fue publicado en México hace uños años y ahora está ...
