Hiram Maristany, Hydrant: In the Air, 1963
(full credit below)
Letras Latinas, the
literary initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino
Studies—in partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM)—is pleased
to present, “Down These Mean Streets Poetry Reading,” featuring Martín Espada, Naomi Ayala, and Samuel
Miranda. The event takes place this Friday, May 12 at 6:30 PM at the Nan
Tucker McEvoy Auditorium at SAAM in Washington, D.C. The reading coincides with
the opening of, “Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in UrbanPhotography,” a SAAM exhibition that runs through August 6.
The poets will be
responding to specific pieces in the exhibit, including pieces by the late
Frank Espada, father of Martín Espada. Other photographers whose work has
inspired some of the poems to be shared that evening include, Manuel Acevedo, Perla
de Leon, Hiram Maristany, and Winston Vargas.
Frank Espada, Untitled, 1981
(Three boys, Sheldon Cafe,
Hartford, Connecticut)
(full credit below)
(full credit below)
This collaboration between
Letras Latinas and the Smithsonian American Art Museum is an outgrowth of a
previous one: “PINTURA:PALABRA, a project in ekphrasis.”
“A number of years ago, I
approached and pitched to E. Carmen Ramos a project to be carried out in tandem
with, Our America: the Latino Presence in American Art, the wonderful
exhibition she put together at SAAM. Several months ago she reached out and
asked if Letras Latinas would be interested in collaborating again, this time
with the “Down These Mean Streets” exhibit. Letras Latinas is pleased to have
curated the participation of Naomi Ayala and Samuel Miranda for this event,”
said Francisco Aragón, Letras Latinas director. “As for Martín, we are pleased
to be collaborating with him again: a number of years ago he served as the final judge for the
Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize--one of two national book prizes that Letras
Latinas oversees,” Aragón added.
For those who can’t get to
the event in person, or those not in the Washington, D.C. area, the Smithsonian
American Art Museum has arranged for a live webcast:
The poets:
photo credit: David González
Martín Espada is an award-winning poet, essayist,
and attorney who has dedicated much of his career to the pursuit of social
justice and Latino rights. His critically acclaimed poetry celebrates—and laments—the
immigrant and working class experience. Espada will read poems inspired by his
father, Frank Espada, whose photographs are featured in Down These Mean Streets. Espada will be
joined by DC-based poets Naomi Ayala and Samuel Miranda:
photo credit: E. Ethelbert Miller
Naomi
Ayala
is the author of three books of poetry—Wild Animals on the Moon
(Curbstone Press), This Side of Early (Curbstone Imprint: Northwestern
University Press), and Calling Home: Praise Songs and Incantations (Bilingual
Review Press). She is also the translator of Luis Alberto Ambroggio’s book The
Wind’s Archeology/La arqueología del viento, which won an International
Latino Book Award for Best Nonfiction Book Translation. She lives in
Washington, DC, where she teaches poetry and memoir to English-language
learners at the Carlos Rosario School as founding teacher of the Write Who
You Are Program.
photo credit: Thomas Sayers Ellis
Samuel Miranda grew up in the South
Bronx and has made his home in Washington, DC. He is a visual artist, poet and
teacher who uses his craft to highlight the value of everyday people and
places. His work has been heavily influenced by Puerto Rican culture and
family history, as well as his interactions with the people in his city, his
students, and people he encounters in his travels. His poetry has been
published in anthologies and journals and he has performed his work at venues
such as the Smithsonian Museum of African Art and the Kennedy Center. His
art has been exhibited throughout the DC metropolitan area.
*
Full photo credits:
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