National Poetry Month

Poetry Month includes a program of fascinating discussions and readings by contemporary Mexican and Spanish poets at the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C.

POETRY WEEK | April 16 through April 24, 2010
Celebrating National Poetry Month:
Spanish Language Poetry Festival and Book Fair

The Mexican Cultural Institute joins National Poetry Month this April by showcasing contemporary Spanish language contributions to the genre from publishing houses in Mexico and Spain. Join them between April 16th and April 24th as they present recent poetry publications with an accompanying program of readings, lectures and a book fair featuring editions of these anthologies.

The Language of Poetry in a Global Age: Conversation and Poetry Reading
Friday, April 16 @ 6:30 pm
This conversation and bilingual reading with Mexican poets Rocío Cerón, Rodrigo Toscano and Mónica de la Torre. They will explore contemporary poetry trends in the digital age, where technology and fluid borders have facilitated the increased movement of people and ideas, thereby calling into question the role of nation-based identity politics and cultural practices in creative expression. The discussion will focus on the recently published anthology Poesía Iberoamericana Made in U.S.A., which features a new generation of Spanish-language poets writing in Spanish in the U.S., U.S.-born poets writing in Spanish, and Mexican poets writing in English.

Bilingual Poetry Reading: Rocío Ceron´s Empire/Imperio
Saturday, April 17 @ 11:00 am
Mexican poet Rocío Cerón will read from her bilingual poetry anthology, Empire/Imperio, an ambitious project that examines the intimate nature of violence within the nuclear family and the tumultuous crash that makes way for the fall of an empire. Rocío Cerón will be introduced by Charles Jensen, Director of The Writer´s Center in Bethesda.

Poetry in the Quotidian Ritual: Reading by Poets Julio Trujillo (Mexico) and Gabriel Insausti (Spain)
Tuesday, April 20 @ 6:30 pm
Mexican Poet Julio Trujillo and Spanish poet Gabriel Insausti will read from their poetry collections Bipolar and Vida y Milagros, respectively. Both of these works reflect on the dual nature of daily life. Trujillo registers a shifting, “bipolar” sentiment within us, while Insausti first filters the rare, brief moments of fulfillment from our daily lives then proposes that this duality may be a misleading notion, and that life itself is a miracle. The authors will be introduced by Sergio Waisman, Chair of the Department of Romance, Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures at The George Washington University. This reading, organized in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain, will be presented in Spanish.

Spanish Language Poetry Book Fair*
April 16 through April 24
From April 16 to April 24, the Mexican Cultural Institute will hold a Book Fair of Spanish-language poetry collections. Books and anthologies from Mexican and Spanish publishing houses (El Billar de Lucrecia y Motín Poeta, Tucán de Virginia, Fondo de Cultura Económica, Ediciones sin Nombre, Pre-Textos, TRILCE, CIDCLI, ERA) will be on display and available for purchase at the Mexican Cultural Institute during regular business hours.
*A special section includes a variety of wonderful books for children in Spanish and bilingual editions.

Mexican Cultural Institute
2829 16th Street, NW | Washington, D.C.
The Mexican Cultural Institute is open Monday to Friday between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.