The Power of the Sword: Poet Martín Espada
Melinda Palacio -- April 23, 2008
Martín Espada says he knows the back way, but for this Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican poet, back doors are no longer necessary. He has solved the paradox of political poetry, and the world is ready to listen to his poems about the disenfranchised and those who normally are not the subject of poetry.
Espada writes poems about his Puerto Rican heritage and his work experiences, ranging from bouncer to tenant lawyer. He is the people's poet, in the tradition of Walt Witman and Pablo Neruda. The 51-year-old professor of creative writing and the works of Pablo Neruda at Amherst, Massachusetts holds an impressive portfolio of awards. His book Alabanza: New and Selected Poems received the Patterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement and was named an American Library Association Notable Book of the Year. He received a PEN/ Revson Fellowship, two NEA fellowships, 2006 John Simon Guggenheim memorial Foundation Fellowship, to name a few of his awards. His book The Republic of Poetry was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Martin Espada at the Border
Book Festival in Mesilla
-- Photo by Melinda Palacio
Ink Byte's Steve Beisner admires Espada's poetry. He especially likes "Rednecks" from the collection Imagine the Angels of Bread and has made a point of sharing it at the favorite poems reading hosted by local poet, Lois Klein, Mondays at the Blue Agave. Beisner, a south Louisiana native, was especially moved by the way in which Espada works with and against stereotypes. "'Rednecks' is both emotional and unexpected," said Beisner. "We've come to expect people to see injustice against certain groups while being blind to injustice against others. Poor Southern Whites are not usually seen as victims of injustice. It's uplifting to see someone of Martín's stature recognize the humanity of such a generally maligned group."
The surprises, twists and turns in Espada's poems are like a dance you didn't know you already knew how to do. The opening lines from "Now the Dead Will Dance the Mambo," say it all: "Last night the shadow of a cloud rolled off the bare mountain / like a shawl slipping from the shoulder of a giant." Espada gives us Achill Island, Ireland and his experience hearing about the death of Tito Puento via the BBC. The reader travels back to Espada's childhood to the noise back in Tito's hometown of Puerto Rico and back to Espada in Ireland: "Guadalupe pushed backstage to return with Tito's drumstick / splintered from repeating, always repeating the beat of slaves. / Here, on the island, I rehearse the Irish word for drum: / bodran, gripped by hand like the panderetta, / circle of skin and wood for the grandchildren of slaves / to thump as they sang the news in Ponce, Puerto Rico." Espada's audiobook of Poetry Now the Dead Will Dance the Mambo is an important companion piece to his numerous books and anthologies. His poems have also appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times Book Review, Harpers, the Nation, and the Best American Poetry, among other places.
Even more rich than learning the dance of Espada's poems is the opportunity to hear Espada, a Shakespearian actor, perform his poems. He reads with his entire body, feet and hands move to the music of his poetry. His baritone bass voice adds an extra musical dimension to his lyrical poems whose politics and precise images will leave any lover of words longing for more.
Martin Espada at the Border
Book Festival in Mesilla
-- Photo by Melinda Palacio
Thanks to David Starkey, Director of the Creative Writing program at Santa Barbara City College, students and the general public will have a chance to hear Espada read. Starkey is pleased to offer this opportunity to Santa Barbara. "Martín Espada is clearly one of the most gifted writers of his generation," said Starkey. "His poems are accessible on first reading, yet deepen on rereading. His voice is by turns witty, elegiac, acid, and always confident. City College is lucky to have a poet of his stature visit us, and I believe Santa Barbara is equally lucky to be able to hear Espada read his work--for free, no less!"
Martín Espada's reading at Santa Barbara City College on Friday, April 25 at 8 pm, will be held in the Fé Bland Forum on the college's West campus.