The ENVOY The official newsletter of the
Canada Cuba Literary Alliance I.S.S.N. – 1911‐0693
June, 2019 Issue 088 www.CanadaCubaLiterary www.CanadaCubaLiteraryAlliance.org
REPUBLIC OF CUBA HOLGUÍN GIBARA LETTER OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The People of Gibara, Holguín, hereby pay deep tribute to and profoundly thank Richard Marvin Grove, founding President of the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA), for his priceless and sustained contributions to our spiritual and cultural growth. Mr. Grove’s endeavors have transcended place and time during the last fifteen years of his constant official support through the CCLA – and the more than twenty-five years of his personal dedication and commitment – to Cuba and Cubans. His efforts have included book donations, courses, visits, poetry workshops, publications of the literary production of Cuban writers and, by extension, the financing and printing of books that are landmarks in the history of a people. Such is the case of the book My Poems Go to You, Gibara (Mis versos son para ti, Gibara). The public presentation of this book sets a before and after in the cultural life of Gibara. We, the people, the artists and writers and poets, are forever grateful to all the CCLA friends and the CCLA President. To us, the CCLA is heaven-sent. We owe it all to Richard Marvin Grove, Kimberley Grove, Manuel Velázquez and to an endless list of other good people devoted to art, literature and culture. Revolutions, in any sense of the word, are the offspring of ideas and of culture. Our CCLA is a cross-cultural revolution that we must support and be its ambassadors because it is the ideas and the cultures of two peoples what keeps this project alive, and there is beauty and truth and joy to behold in what the CCLA promotes and defends: poetry, ART
Miguel Ángel Olivé Iglesias. CCLA Cuban President
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT The Envoy Editors are pleased to announce Hidden Brook Press will soon publish two books authored by our Canada Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA) Cuban President, Miguel Ángel Olivé Iglesias. The first one is his bilingual solo poetry book, Forge of Words. It comprises fifty-two poems and is Miguel´s first full-length book we hope you will enjoy as much as we did during its revision stages. In the Introduction to his book, Miguel said, “… here is an assorted book full of varied viewpoints about women, poetry – and poets, both in the poems and the quotations I include. I felt so much pleasure quoting lines I loved when I read them the first time. The book is also a journey through nature, life, friendship, the night, history, family, nostalgia, hope, commonalities, city life and bustle, death, loss, all of these themes cohabiting in “random harmony” from the modest perspective of a Cuban…” The second one is a talked about, highly anticipated book in English with thirty-six reviews about thirty-one Canadian poets, In a Fragile Moment: A Landscape of Canadian Poetry. Miguel has said that he felt privileged and blessed to have been able to write all these homage essays, among them three special-tribute ones on iconic figures: Al Purdy, Milton Acorn and Margaret Atwood. These are his words in his acknowledgements: “Above all, I thank the poets, whose works motivated me to write all these reviews. I am the richer for the reading.” Mechanical Engineer Adislenis Castro Ruiz, our CCLA expert IT friend in Gibara, and Jorge Pérez Hernández, CCLA Ambassador and The Envoy Editor, are working also on a bilingual SandCrab Books ebook that compiles twelve Holguín poets, established and lesser known ones, in a blend of melodious neatness. The Editor is our CCLA Cuban President Miguel Ángel Olivé Iglesias. Readers will have at their disposal one-hundred and thirty-eight fine poems, bios of the poets and photos to accompany the texts. In his Introduction, the Editor stated, “In reading the poets as a whole I started to notice… an inevitable common denominator to their passion and varied themes. Love, as multifarious, polysemantic, magnetic, many-sided and enrapturing as life, living and the reflections emerging from the poets´ minds and experiences.” This broad spectrum of new CCLA publications proudly maintains the already fifteen-year-old tradition of bridging and honoring Canadian and Cuban cultures, a standard defined by our CCLA President, Richard Marvin Grove (Tai) when he founded the Alliance in 2004. With ever-renewing satisfaction and tireless efforts, we continue to do so.
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Miguel Olivé´s First Full Poetry Book: Forge Of Words I have fully enjoyed Forge of Words, a poetry book by Cuban Professor Miguel Olivé. Despite all the modesty he claims for his writing style and his poems, I can safely state that he should have no second thoughts about the high quality of his poetry and should keep on writing; there is a natural poet deep inside him. Poets have always argued they never finish polishing their poems; they just have to stop somewhere and publish, but constant editing keeps coming and coming! That is true; we will never cease to grow in any sense. That is what Miguel does with every new poem he “forges” and shows to me. When we read other people´s literary pieces, many of us tend to say, “I would have said it this way or that way.” That is valid, we must learn from all sources, yet sometimes we fail to observe one of the key aspects of poetic craft: individuality. Olivé has successfully found his style – not only in writing but also in reading his poetry before an audience. This is evident in Forge of Words. From his early works, mostly dedicated to intimate poems to women, to his latest – experiencing all sorts of themes and textual arrangements – it is a joy to witness Miguel’s growth as a poet, much of which derives from having read and absorbed fine Canadian poetry during the last three years, and from having followed valuable advice given by poet friends. In reading his book, I became an active witness of things, people and feelings described. From “Your Magic,” where you actually see and feel the fire, the moon, the souls and magic being sprinkled, through “Witness of Twilight,” in which motion, touch and sight come together, I turned into a participant of the poet´s act of living and eternalizing love and nature. Without giving up his intimate dialogues with love, Olivé surprises us with many other everyday and universal themes: family, everyday life, history, illnesses, death, etc. We will enjoy each poem as a single component of a larger structure, even in their variety and motif. However, diversity does not affect the palpable cohesion that remains deeply entwined in Miguel´s unique style and we sense as we read. Let´s read then Forge of Words and think of our own lives and contexts. I am sure many of these poems will ring a bell in your hearts and your own experiences.
BEd Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández Canada Cuba Literary Alliance Ambassador Editor of “The Envoy” newsletter Contributing Editor of The Ambassador magazine President of the “Sea Dreamers” Gibara Poets Group
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Notre Dame de Paris Brûle By: K.V.Skene Notre Dame de Paris Brûle Our Lady of Paris is now and ever shall be France’s Point Zéro the heart of Île de la cité where all roads start and taken for granted by Parisiens and ex-pats tourists and travellers devotees and deniers and doubters passers-by and photographers and lovers of all things beautiful and old and otherworldly and Our Lady of Paris shall be as in the beginning – parce que Notre Dame de Paris ç’est Paris
K.V. Skene ‘s work has appeared in Canadian, U.K., U.S., Irish, Indian, Australian and Austrian magazines – most recently in Scintilla (UK,) FreeFall (Canada) The Stony Thursday Book (Ireland), Poetry News (The Poetry Society Newsletter (UK). Tower Poetry (Canada) and The Frogmore Papers (UK) A winner in the 2018 erbacce prize contest, her latest collection, Unoriginal Sins, was published this year by erbacce-press (UK). Also, a winner in the 2018 Cinnamon Press pamphlet contest, her new chapbook The Love Life of Bus Shelters, appeared in March 2019.
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Onwards by Miguel Ángel Olivé Iglesias
In spite of forces that upon us tend We soldier on to reach the light In prayer we seek after the might That comes from God, family and friend. Against all odds we stand and strive Shake off the drawbacks of defeat Erase delusion, derision and deceit March onwards on a glorious drive. Behold the undying sparks of hope Glow at the winding end Hold on, have faith, your flag defend Up ragged hill, down sharp-angled slope. Let not your life be lived in vain Uplift your soul in shine and rain!
I lOVE By: Miriam Estrella Vera Delgado I love each day And its daily Chores I love opening the Door
HAIKU By John Hamley
A great tree once stood on that mossy stump— Now a squirrel Haiku Canada Members’ Anthology, 2009 © John Hamley
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Snow fleas jump The eye can't follow The winter will end Haiku Canada Review 3 (2), Oct. 2009 © John Hamley Silence— Then an owl’s call as clear as the stars Haiku Canada Review 3 (2), Oct. 2009 © John Hamley
Lover Beware
By Merle Amodeo
Take my word for it we're falling in love. I can tell by the dryness in my throat and the dampness in your eyes. So here's the caveat: I don't want to be loved madly again. Mad men can't be trusted. Love me casually, the way you long for a quarter pounder. Relish me, onion me if you like, but don't forsake all others. Man cannot live on burgers alone. Love me warmly, the way you cherish a lively terrier. Take me for walks if you wish, pet me and brush me, but don't chain me up. I'll always need to run with the pack. Love me the way you adore your favourite song. Listen in ecstasy, but don't learn to play me. I vanish when pinned down. In return, I promise a love that treasures your voice that always manages to sing off key, your laughter, even when it slips into hysteria, and your crooked smile that warms me to my toes.
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Gibara Dream
by Adislenis Castro Ruiz
I am walking down a star labyrinth, the world at my feet. The night is long and it envelops me, making my steps sink and lose themselves in an endless path. Coldness freezes my doleful, tired body. In the distance, an infinite prelude announces the arrival of an unreachable dawn. My soul cries and my thoughts drift off. From one hand hangs a heavy load of fears, hesitation, misfortunes; from the other, a light bag of dreams and renewed illusions. The road is abrupt, my feet stumble and in the permanent darkness I lift my arms to the sky demanding to be understood. My guardian angel appears clearing the grey sky and illuminating my steps with his light. From afar the organ stops. In the sky, stars begin to fade.
Daybreak, where there was darkness colors bloom. Rainbow cascades fall freely from the mountains like rivers of clean, crystalline water. Suddenly beaches surface, the bay, rivers with meanders and tributaries. On one side a majestic elevation rises like a saddle; on the other side, nested at the feet of a hill, stands restored a red-tiled-roof town. In the mangrove, thousands of crustaceans flee in panic from the fishermen´s fishing nets, and in the trees, the birds´ chirping replaces the melodic weeping of the mute organ. The town awakens, Spring flowers blossom and in my fleeting dream life starts anew.
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Adislenis Castro Ruiz: Gibara, Holguín, Cuba, 1972. Mechanical Engineer.Narrator and poet. She is a member of the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance and of the literary workshops "Armando Leyva Balaguer" and "Manuel Navarro Luna", both of the Gibara municipality where she currently resides. Her work is published in the bulletins Cacoyugüin, of the Gibara Culture House System, and Arrecife, of the municipal bookstore of Gibara, to others in the books "My verses are for you Gibara" and "The Sea of All" and "Gibara 200 años ", edited by the Alianza Canadá Cuba and in the book" XIV Contest of Children's Tales without Borders "of the publishing house TXIRULA Kultur Taldea. Her literary creation has been disseminated in cultural spaces and local institutions. She has won prizes and honorable mentions in municipal contests and in the "XIV Contest of Children's Tales Without Borders" Bilbao, Spain, 2016 WOMAN
Al PURDY __and some whose home is the wind that lifts the curtains at night when you wake up and don´t know why and she is there too and unprovable as the sun on the other side of the world __and now there is only myself here in this cage of bones kept prisoner forever and cannot be free to hover and hover as a moth hovers around its beloved light beloved light MUJER AL PURDY Translated by Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández
__ y alguien cuyo hogar es el viento, que levanta las cortinas en la noche cuando despiertas y no sabes porqué y ella está allí también e improbable como el sol al otro lado del mundo
__ y ahora existo solo aquí prisionero en esta jaula de huesos para siempre y no puedo estar libre para revolotear y revolotear como una mariposa nocturna revolotea alrededor de su amada luz amada luz
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Paul Corman. Biography Paul has been published in numerous magazines and newspapers and written two novels. He knows that creative writing can be a valuable tool to help people understand and trust each other. He has travelled around Cuba by taxi, bus, moto-scooter, and horse carriage meeting Cuban people and staying in family-run casas. He considers it an honour and a pleasure to have the chance to be part of the great social experiment that is Cuba.
snow By Paul Corman It was snowing when I woke up this morning. Large white flakes floating down. Like crystal flower petals. The world covered in a soft white blanket. All sharp edges rounded. All dirt hidden. All sins forgiven.
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
Spring
By Richard M. Grove
April 05, 2019 Owed to T. S. ELIOT and the first stanza of his poem “The Waste Land”
April is the cruelest month with temperatures rising finally into life, even at night. Lilac buds are kissing the warm air with swelling buds stunted by the still frost threatened landscape that swirls memory with desire only to be slammed by her sister, winter’s punishing joke. The last of shadowed snow the melancholy reminders of hunkering down are all but gone. Black budding branches bulge with the promise of life now full of winged music singing to pale faced sun worshipers praying that it will not snow – again.
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
NATURE’S NEEDLEPOINT By Kimberly Elizabeth Grove The view from my cabin window is Nature’s large empty cloth. White as this page, winter lingers. Brittle frosted branches begin the lines and angles etching a rough gray sketch with the needle’s single trail. Spring’s streaks of lightning startle any artist’s hand as the rumbling thunder like distant fireworks warns that the belly of the sky will open. The artist’s cloth is rinsed through before jungle shades of green begin to border the scene. Then the whistle of a camouflaged thrush pierces the air; the sound struggles, reaching for sunlight to signal summer’s lazy days. Bright yellow daffodils worship the sun while lilacs perfume the air. Roses, lilies and tulips sew more colour into the fabric. She adds the hundreds of leaves that will crumple underfoot like worn paper bags. The height of colour woven into Her work, She applies some final touches, blowing away unnecessary edges or redoing ugly patches. A sewn-in signature like the branding of a great creature, the artisan stands back with me to survey the masterpiece.
Cabin Healing By Kimberly Elizabeth Grove As many candles alight in our cabin as in a Catholic church with a similar reverence in this forest stillness. The fire sings a soft hissing song void of lyrics. The scent of cedar burning seeps through evergreen branches. The small genies leave our coffee cups as you and I, like scribes, busily write poetry at the picnic table.
JUNE 2019 ENVOY-088 – EDITOR- Jorge Alberto Pérez Hernández – joyphccla@gmail.com
I love... By Lisa Makarchuk anticipation bursting from the swelling of seedlings a promise of greening in the embrace of sun's rays the roar of new waters released from their snowy resides running clear over rapids boulders and rocks, streaming into rivulets, sunlight reflecting the soft stirrings of spring with raucous and rancorous responses of robins and wrens wild chirping and darting of unrelenting urges to build nests, lay eggs perpetuate a cycle that's laden with hope for the future