April 27: Martin EspadaKeynote speech of the Etheridge Knight Poetry Festival
When: Friday April 27 7:30 PM
Where:
Indiana Historical Society Auditorium
In Spanish, “espada” means sword. Called “the Pablo Neruda of North American authors,” poet Martín Espada draws inspiration from his Puerto Rican heritage and his work experiences ranging from bouncer to tenant lawyer. His eighth collection of poems, The Republic of Poetry, is forthcoming from Norton in fall 2006. Of this new book, Samuel Hazo writes: “Espada unites in these poems the fierce allegiances of Latin American poetry to freedom . . . with the democratic tradition of Whitman, and the result is poetry of fire and passionate intelligence.” His last book, Alabanza: New and Selected Poems, 1982-2002 (Norton, 2003), received the Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement and was named an American Library Association Notable Book of the Year. An earlier collection, Imagine the Angels of Bread (Norton, 1996), won an American Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, Harper’s, The Nation, and Best American Poetry.
If you like this reading…Check out the discussion of the work of Cuban dissident writer Zoë Valdez May 10.
You should know before you go… Check out Espada’s poetry: http://www.martinespada.net/poems.htm, and read this nice article about Espada, “Poet of Conscience.”
For more information after the reading …Read a more thorough set of reviews and analyses of Espada’s work: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/espada/espada.htm
Indy experts: Karen Kovacik of IUPUI is more than a great poet and translator … she thinks deeply about how poetry crosses and transcends boundaries and border.
Get involved: Etheridge Knight Inc promotes the arts and the appreciation of the arts for youth, youth at risk, adults, seniors, the handicapped, and the incarcerated by providing the arts for people of all ages and cultures through various artistic expressions. The organization pays tribute to the arts community and the legacy of the late American poet Etheridge Knight. All volunteer help is welcomed. Including bi-lingual, sign language, artists, all ages, cultures… etc. http://ekfestival.org/
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