Our second week in Querétaro was busy indeed. Besides being with the students and helping them get settled in their homes and classes, I was invited by my dear friend Araceli Ardón to to a "bohemia literaria"—an evening of poetry, wine and food under the stars with Mexican poet Lilvia Soto and eight of Araceli's closest friends.
Although I was exhausted (and a little nervous, to be honest), I knew I had to go. I knew Soto's literary criticism from her work on Pacheco, but was unfamiliar with her poetry. The purpose of this get-together was to listen to the guests read poems they had selected and to plan the program for a cultural event at the Museo de Arte the following night honoring Soto's work. I truly enjoyed listening to the poems each person had selected to read, but the highlight was definitely meeting Lilvia herself. I was lucky enough to sit next to her and we joked and laughed the entire night.
Just when I was relaxing into the evening, Araceli passed me a 5-page bilingual poem full of tongue twisters and invented words and asked if I would do her the honor of reading it right there for everyone; needless to say my heart began to race, and more so when she asked me to participate in the program the following night. As you can imagine, I spent the next 24 hours reading and rereading that poem aloud. But thankfully all went well.
Having that evening of poetry, which also included a spectacular guitar recital—interspersed between the poems—inspired and excited me about my literature class next spring. I will definitely incorporate Lilvia's verse in my courses in the future. If you're curious, I'm attaching the poem I read as well as one of my favorites, "Ciudadanía" ("Citizenship"), about the plight of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. By the way, Dr. Soto is from Chihuahua, Mexico. She was a Fullbright Scholar and has taught at Harvard and U Penn, amongst others. She's now retired and living in Arizona.
Although I was exhausted (and a little nervous, to be honest), I knew I had to go. I knew Soto's literary criticism from her work on Pacheco, but was unfamiliar with her poetry. The purpose of this get-together was to listen to the guests read poems they had selected and to plan the program for a cultural event at the Museo de Arte the following night honoring Soto's work. I truly enjoyed listening to the poems each person had selected to read, but the highlight was definitely meeting Lilvia herself. I was lucky enough to sit next to her and we joked and laughed the entire night.
Just when I was relaxing into the evening, Araceli passed me a 5-page bilingual poem full of tongue twisters and invented words and asked if I would do her the honor of reading it right there for everyone; needless to say my heart began to race, and more so when she asked me to participate in the program the following night. As you can imagine, I spent the next 24 hours reading and rereading that poem aloud. But thankfully all went well.
Having that evening of poetry, which also included a spectacular guitar recital—interspersed between the poems—inspired and excited me about my literature class next spring. I will definitely incorporate Lilvia's verse in my courses in the future. If you're curious, I'm attaching the poem I read as well as one of my favorites, "Ciudadanía" ("Citizenship"), about the plight of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. By the way, Dr. Soto is from Chihuahua, Mexico. She was a Fullbright Scholar and has taught at Harvard and U Penn, amongst others. She's now retired and living in Arizona.
Lilvia Soto & I. Although Mexicans don't smile much in photos, she is a very joyful person!
|
| ||||
