The Poetry of Pedro Pietri ~ Puerto Rican Obituary ~RIP

Today is the anniversary of Puertorican Poet Pedro Pietri's death.

He is the author of One of my favorite poems;

Puerto Rican Obituary

Pietri passionately paint a picture of his real New York with words.  You can listen him reciting it on the video player below.






"Puerto Rican Obituary," by Pedro Pietri (1973)

Taino Folklore and Folktales

The project I’m interested in creating next is based on Taino Folklore therefore I would like to take a closer look at what Folklore is and how it developed.


Folklores are directly influenced by culture. They are based on traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people. These are passed on to new generations by oral literature of a society in various forms; such as myth, legend, folktale, song, proverb, and many others. The Tainos used dance and game ceremonies.


The Wiki definition addresses something I think is very important. It mentions superstitions.

Folktale: The tales, legends and superstitions of a particular ethnic population.

This is important because the very definition of Folktale states that they are known to be false, giving us a highly symbolic work. I love this because it gives the creator of a folktale the freedom to state a point through creative story telling.


Instantly I am reminded of Aesop Fables. When I was in elementary school I really enjoyed looking at the drawings in these books. The pictures were lovely to look at. I also remember that even at that very young age I “got” it. I knew these tales were not true but they were trying to tell me something. They were trying to teach me a lesson.


I wonder if that has something to do with the belief I have today: that it is an author’s duty to say something. I know I apply it to my work. All of my work, from my paintings to my writings are saying something. They are all expressions of an idea. When I am painting I go even deeper and focus on a particular emotion.


So in conclusion: folklore comes from a strong desire to teach. Knowing this will give me a great perspective as I delve in to research Taino society and their religion.

2011 Reading Challenge: Puerto Rican Young Writers

 Hey fellow book lovers.  I stumbled across this reading challenge and thought this might interest you.

The 2011 Reading Challenge: Puerto Rican Young Writers is a book reading challenge created to spread Puerto Rican literature outside our 100 x 35 miles island. You can sign up on ThirtyCreativeStudio at any time.

Puertorican Literature ~ Literatura Puertoriquena

I have recently come up with yet another great goal this year. I’m always reading but due to lack of space I don’t keep very many books. Well for me three bookshelves is not a lot or anywhere near enough space. *wink* So while I was dusting and reorganizing my bookshelf I notice how small my Latino / Hispanic literature collection of books is. Right now it my collection fits neatly in one pretty row of my book shelf. If you didn’t guess yet, my brilliant goal is to beef it up with more great literature.
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There are many wonderful authors but I decided I must begin by expanding my collection of Puertorican authors. It made me a little sad that we have barely more than a century of Puertorican literature. Before that time period only people of other countries such as priests or colonizers wrote about Puerto Rico. A few oral stories survived but anything written was forbidden by the Spanish colonial government until the United States invaded Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War and the island was ceded to the Americans as a condition of the Treaty of Paris of 1898.
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I feel it is of utmost importance the history of Puerto Rico should also be expressed by those who lived it. A point of view I would love to see much more of. The good news is that in the last century literature has continued to flourish and the people of Puerto Rico have a voice.
During my online search, I found a fantastic bookstore in Puerto Rico that sells used college textbooks. As I go through the books I will begin a series of posts with a short biography and important works.
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These are the first batch of books I ordered:
- Cuentos Puertoriquenos de Hoy (1959) with prologue and notes by Rene Marques.
- La Purificacion en la Calle del Cristo (1958) – Rene Marques
- La Resaca (1975) by Enrique A. Laguerre
- La Importancia de Llamarse Daniel Santos (1988) by Luis Raphael Sanchez
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If anyone has any recommendations on where to get books or suggestions on what to read next I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment.