Outdated Browser

For the best experience using our website, we recommend upgrading your browser to a newer version or switching to a supported browser.

More Information

Writing from the Caribbean

November 2011

This month we present literature from the Caribbean. Writers from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Martinique, and Puerto Rico contribute compelling portraits of their countries and societies. From sober reports on natural disasters and political oppression to antic depictions of sexuality run amok, the pieces collected here testify to the range and vitality of this region’s writers. Haiti’s Dany Laferrière reports from the rubble of the 2010 earthquake. In an excerpt from his Prix Goncourt-shortlisted novel, Lyonel Trouillot sends a young woman in search of her family history. Cuba’s Jorge Olivera Castillo brings a nightmare to life. His countryman Omar Pérez performs a lively regguetón. From Martinique, Suzanne Dracius rides with Amazons, while Johan Moya Ramis struggles with an unruly body part. Évelyne Trouillot gives voice to a madwoman on a turbulent journey. Puerto Rico’s Juan Flores presents a tap-dancing sage, while José María Lima speaks from the grave. In poetry from the Dominican Republic, Frank Baez paints a self-portrait, José Mármol communes with nature, and Aurora Arias comes full circle. We trust you’ll enjoy this island tour.

The World is Moving Around Me

By Dany Laferrière

I understand now that a minute can hold the entire life of a city.

Translated from French by David Homel

There is No Theorem (A Regguetón)

all things in moderation and the moderation addles.

Translated from Spanish by Kristin Dykstra

Multilingual

The Other Day After the Rain

By Johan Moya Ramis

He throws the arm with the machete around my shoulders, the edge of the blade scant centimeters from my neck.

Translated from Spanish by David Iaconangelo

Multilingual

From “La Belle Amour Humaine”

By Lyonel Trouillot

Now that I no longer see, I see no better use of my presence in this world than to look out the window.

Translated from French by Linda Coverdale

Multilingual

Self-Portrait

The neighbors dream of shooting me.

Translated from Spanish by Hoyt Rogers

Multilingual

Brine, Blood, and Mother’s Milk

By Évelyne Trouillot

I still tremble from the child’s furtive attention.

Translated from French by Paul Curtis Daw

Multilingual

Alive or Dead

By Jorge Olivera Castillo

One of the dogs goes for him as if there were nothing between them to block its way.

Translated from Spanish by Amanda Hopkinson

Women’s Fantasies

By Suzanne Dracius

You’ll have no cause for complaint / You’ll be sated

Translated from French by Nancy Naomi Carlson

Multilingual

Deus ex Machina

By José Mármol

Throw the dice, Lord, your turn has inevitably come.

Translated from Spanish by Erica Mena

Multilingual

Invention of the Day

By José Mármol

thursday the man who invented death with his blood rested on a rock.

Translated from Spanish by Erica Mena

Multilingual

The Crane

By Juan Carlos Flores

somewhat drunk he tap dances over the wet cobblestones

Translated from Spanish by Kristin Dykstra

Multilingual

From the Grave of My Grave

By José María Lima

stalker-yesterday says slowly / my death has not begun

Translated from Spanish by Erica Mena

Multilingual

Bird’s Nest

By Aurora Arias

the honied bodies of whores / hold all the men.

Translated from Spanish by Erica Mena

Multilingual