Afro-Latinx Poetry Now: A Photo Essay in 30 Images

 

There are many ways people come together to share poetry. And for each way we come together, there is a coinciding label: reading, lecture, festival, etc. The Afro-Latinx Poetry Now gathering was a two-day multifaceted experience. The purpose of this photo essay is to capture the many aspects of the gathering; it was more than what viewers can see in the recordings of the six sessions. In other words, although the gathering included vibrant talks by scholars and enthralling poetry readings—what one might typically expect to experience at a poetry event—it also included classroom visits, breakfast with MFA students, book signings, and dinners with poets and scholars. When I think of the term community, this gathering is now what comes to mind. Community requires coming together, both formally and informally, to share, to nurture, to give, to learn. I hope these photos help convey the sense of community we shared over the course of those two enriching September days at The University of Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana.
Brent Ameneyro 
2022-2023 Letras Latinas Poetry Coalition Fellow

Day 1

The beginning of the gathering: poets and scholars getting to know one another at breakfast

TV screens around campus flashed the headshots of the poets, and attendees were welcomed by a large printed poster outside the hall where poets and scholars presented

Francisco Aragón introducing Yesenia Montilla, Darrel Alejandro Holnes, and John Murillo at the start of Session 1

Darrel Alejandro Holnes paying homage to Lorenzo Thomas’s book 

Yesenia Montilla presenting on the poetry of Aracelis Girmay

John Murillo presenting on the poetry of Nancy Morejón

Francisco Robles presenting on the poetry of Yesenia Montilla

John Alba Cutler presenting on the poetry of John Murillo with John Murillo himself sitting front row

Wisdom and beauty being shared between poets around the dinner table

The evening audience gathering in anticipation of the poetry reading

Darrel Alejandro Holnes performing his poetry

Yesenia Montilla performing her poetry

John Murillo performing his poetry

Darrel Alejandro Holnes responding to audience Q&A with John Murillo and Yesenia Montilla supporting him in the background

Yesenia Montilla, Darrel Alejandro Holnes, and John Murillo signing books

Day 2

Jasminne Mendez presenting on the poetry of Dianelly Antigua

Roberto Carlos Garcia presenting on the poetry of Willie Perdomo

Raina J. León presenting on the poetry of Alán Pelaez López

Scholar John Alba Cutler engages the poets during Q&A

Jasminne Mendez, Roberto Carlos Garcia, and Raina J. León responding to audience Q&A

Judith Rodríguez presenting virtually on the poetry of Jasminne Mendez

A captivated audience listening to Marisel Moreno presenting on the poetry of Roberto Carlos Garcia

Yomaira Figueroa-Vásquez presenting on the poetry of Raina J. León

One of many moments of joy and laughter around the dinner table

Jasminne Mendez performing her poetry center stage

Roberto Carlos Garcia performing his poetry at the podium

Raina J. León performing her poetry with a visual accompaniment

Jasminne Mendez, Raina J. León, and Roberto Carlos Garcia responding to audience Q&A after the evening poetry reading

Raina J. León, Roberto Carlos Garcia, and Jasminne Mendez signing books

All six poets lounging on a couch after a successful day of presentations and performances

To read the testimonios of the event participants, please visit http://letraslatinasblog.blogspot.com/2022/12/afro-latinx-poetry-now-testimonios.html

Video recordings of all six sessions of the Afro-Latinx Poetry Now event are available to view at the following link: https://latinostudies.nd.edu/news-events/events/afro-latinx-poetry-now/