Poet Claribel Alegria

MAY 29, 2007 TUESDAY AT 3PM CT

 


  "To know her and her work is to feel your life enriched." This hour on Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders, feel enriched with an introduction into the life and work of Neustadt Laureate Niaraguan-born poet Claribel Alegria.

Guest
  • Daisy Zamora, one of Nicaragua's most distinguished women poets
  • George Evans, poet, author of five poetry books including the latest one, The New World (2002).
  • Alexander "Sandy" Taylor, poet, editor of Curbstone Press
Selected Poem by Claribel Alegría

                Ars Poetica
 
Yo,
poeta de oficio,
condenada tantas veces
a ser cuervo
jamás me cambiaría
por la Venus de Milo:
mientras reina en el Louvre
y se muere de tedio
y junta polvo
yo descubro el sol
todos los días
y entre valles
volcanes
y despojos de guerra
avizoro la tierra prometida.
 
I,
poet by trade,
condemned so many times
to be a crow,
would never change places
with the Venus de Milo:
while she reigns in the Louvre
and dies of boredom
and collects dust
I discover the sun
each morning
and amid valleys
volcanoes
and debris of war
I catch sight of the promised land.

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