The poet Reina Maria Rodriguez. La Habane 1996
© Francesco Gattoni
Reina María Rodríguez, recipient of the 2022 La Avellaneda Medal, the highest recognition in letters conferred by the Cuban Cultural Center of New York, is one of the most representative poets of contemporary Cuban literature.
Although her early poetry shows the influence of colloquialism, she has sought to develop a complex, philosophical voice, creating a space for difference within an ideologically saturated environment. Born in Havana in 1952, less than a decade before the Cuban revolution, she has been recognized in Cuba not only as a major poet but as an advocate for alternative (non-state) cultural spaces. She used her rooftop home, informally known as la azotea de Reina, as an intellectual salon that became an important literary hub in Havana for three decades.
Among Rodríguez’ publications are La gente de mi barrio (1978); Cuando una mujer no duerme (UNEAC, 1980); Para un cordero blanco (Casa de las Américas, 1984); En la arena de Padua (Ediciones Unión, 1992); Páramos (Ediciones Unión, 1993); La foto del invernadero (Casa de las Américas, 1998); and the anthology Ellas escriben cartas de amor. Reina María Rodríguez has won two Casa de las Américas Prizes (1984, 1998), three National Critics’ Awards (1992, 1995, 1999), two Julián de Casal Prizes (1980, 1983), the National Literature Prize, Cuba’s top literary prize (2013), and the Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Award for Poetry (2014).
English translations of her work include Violet Island and Other Poems, tr. Kristin Dykstra and Nancy Gates Madsen (Green Integer., 2004), La detencion del tiempo / Time’s Arrest , tr. Dykstra (Factory School, 2005), and Other Letters to Milena / Otras cartas a Milena, tr. Dykstra (University of Alalbama Press, 2014).
The poet will be introduced by fellow Cuban poet Lourdes Gil. The presentation will be followed by La Avellaneda Medal award ceremony, and capped by a commentary by Reina María Rodríguez and a select reading from her latest book, Dársenas (Ediciones Furtivas, 2022), which will be made available to the attending public.
This event is part of our CreateNYC Language Access Series on Cuban History, Art, and Literature. It will be held in Spanish .
INSTITUTO CERVANTES
211 E 49th St, bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves., NYC
FREE for MEMBERS
of CCCNY or INSTITUTO CERVANTES
REQUIRED RSVP AT:
info@cubanculturalcenter.org
La Avellaneda Medal is named after Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda,
one of the leading Romantic figures of the 19th century. Born to a privileged family in Camagüey in 1814, the playwright, poet, novelist, and essayist not only gained a reputation for her literary talent, but also for her progressive beliefs. Many of her works, including her abolitionist novel Sab (which predates Uncle Tom’s Cabin by more than a decade), explored the inequalities of gender, race and class, and were banned in colonial Cuba. In recent years, her oeuvre has reawakened scholarly interest and recognition on an international scale.
The medal is conferred for a groundreaking body of work enriching Cuba’s literary landscape.
Lourdes Gil is a poet and essayist. Her poetry collections
include Anima vagula and Empieza la ciudad, among
others. Her poetry has been widely anthologized,
and her essays on the art and literature of the
Cuban diaspora have been included in numerous journals
and encyclopedias. Her many awards include a writing
fellowship from the Ford Foundation. She has had a long and distinguished academic career as professor of Latin American Studies at Baruch College, CUNY, where a scholarship fund
was established in her name, and as director of the
Literature Program of the Cuban Cultural Center of New York until 2021.
This event is co-sponsored by Instituto Cervantes
And is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
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