Dominican Writers and Poets/Escritores y Poetas Dominicanos
Julia Alvarez is a poet, essayist and fiction writer. She is the author of "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents," which won a PEN Oakland award, "In the Time of the Butterflies," a National Book Critics' Award finalist, a book of essays, "Something To Declare" , a children's book, "The Secret Footprints," among others.
Her family lived in Dominican Republic During the Trujillo dictatorship and had to flee the country when the Secret Police found out her father was involved in a plot against the dictator.
This is an interview with Julia Alvarez. Here she talks about "moving to USA, her relationship with her family, and the rituals that keep her a focused writer"
Manuel del Cabral born in Santiago de los Ca-balleros March 7, 1907.His father wanted him to be a lawyer but he was drawn to books and writing at a young age. He worked in a book store and in 1931, after his first poem was publish he moved to Santo Domingo, the capital of Dominican Republic. When he was around 30 he traveled to New York on a cargo ship and got a job as a window washer. He got a job at the Dominican Embassy where he learned much. Cabral has written books and poems about many diverse subjects. He is one of the most beloved poets in the country. He won the Premio Nacional de Literatura/National Prize of Literature in 1992. He died in Santo Domingo May 14, 1999
This is one of my favorite poems by Manuel del Cabral
Mira que soy hombre, pero ..,
con estas manos vacías
cómo me parezco a ti.
Perro que vas con tu amo,
fíjate bien:
que al hablar contigo, hablo
conmigo mismo... ¿No ves
que tan cerca del patrón,
no somos tres,
sino dos...?
Hombre que vas con tu perro:
tu servidor.
¡Qué grueso que está tu perro,
y qué flaco que estoy yo!
¡Estoy flaco porque tengo
gorda la voz!
Hombre que vas con tu perro:
con tu guardián.
Cuida mi voz, como el perro
cuida tu pan.
Perro que vas con un hombre
que amigo tuyo no es...
Acércate un poco al pobre,
huélelo bien.
Fíjate que tengo boca,
fíjate en mí
Real Life and Times in the Dominican Republic
