We hosted these three poets at Nassau on Monday and it was a terrific experience, especially for my students.  Laura and Dolores presented their work in Spanish, while Jen presented her translations (which I’m glad she described plainly and without apologies as “a political act” – it addressed some of the ideas I have been discussing with my students). I hope we can find ways to have more fully multi-lingual events on campus, and in the English department.  The work is difficult, from a language perspective, particularly Laura’s – which is not something my students are always quick to work with and integrate patiently – but, because of the feeling behind the presentation, I found that my students were quite affected by it.  They launched right into a discussion about what they had seen when I walked into class on Wednesday. They wanted to know where the pain was coming from in the work.  It was exciting to see them embracing pain, wanting to explore it and not back away.

It was enlightening to hear Dolores discuss living in Juarez, Mexico. When my colleague asked her how she felt about Juarez, she said it was wonderful, that she loves it, without hesitation.  There is a great deal of life apart from the well-publicized violence. She rides her bike around town, which may be dangerous, but that danger is something she feels she can’t be cognizant of if she wishes to live and get things done in her city.  It was particularly interesting to hear about Dolores’s work with the Border Crossing Project (which I believe is the name of the organization). She offers autobiography classes for women, women who are largely marginalized and have never been given a forum for their voice. Dolores sees Mexico’s history as half-missing; it’s record is one that has not been created by women.  She is hoping to begin to fill this gap with her work with these women, and to create a record in a way appropriate to them, not in the image of the previous historical model.

Jen was also kind enough to give me a little handmade book, Tangelo, featuring one of her collaborations with Patrick Durgin. It’s made from repurposed office paper from a former nuclear testing facility in New Mexico. Their notes on collaboration at the end are particularly useful. They ask the necessary question, “Is all writing collaboration?” Answering ‘yes’ to this question requires that we, as creators, ask whose “blood is in us,” whose lives and work are creating ours.