24th Poetry Marathon: La Pluma y la Palabra
The event is among several each year that support La Luna’s mission to promote Hispanic culture and foster cross-cultural understanding between the Spanish- and English-speaking communities in the national capital area.
Teatro de la Luna is proud to announce its 24th Poetry Marathon in Spanish, La Pluma y la Palabra.
The poetry marathon, a ground-breaking event in the United States, brings together recognized Spanish American poets –both in and outside the United States– to share their work with Washington, D.C. poetry community. This year’s marathon includes readings by poets Amado Lascar (Chile), Francisco Alvarez Koki (Spain), Ivonne Sánchez Barea (Spain/Colombia/USA), Gladys Ilarregui and Luis Alberto Ambroggio (Argentina/USA), Manlio Argueta and Carlos Parada (El Salvador), Tomas Modesto Galán and León Félix Batista (Dominican Republic).
Poet and Professor Rei Berroa from George Mason University coordinates the marathon, which also features open-mike poetry sessions.
Schedule and venues
- On Friday, June 10, from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. At the Library of Congress, Mary Pickford Theater, Independence Ave. & 1st Street SE, Washington, D.C.
- On Saturday, June 11, from 2 pm to 8 pm. At Casa de la Luna, 4020 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
Participating poets
Ivonne Sánchez Barea has published thirteen poetry books and participated in poetry anthologies in several languages. Her articles and essays have been included in cultural, literary, scientific magazines. She presides and represents in Spain the International Writers Organizations, Associations and Cultural Movements. She has given conferences in Spain and Latin America, participated in international poetry festivals, and won several poetry awards. Her latest publications: Harmony versus Entropy, Des-Velos, Tetrada, Granada mi Zambra (2015). Coming soon: El Nido (2016), Crisálidas del Tiempo and Lápidas de Sueño (2017).
Luis Alberto Ambroggio (Argentina, 1945) has published more than twenty books, which include essays, narrative and poetry. Amongst these are the following: Estados Unidos Hispano (2015), La arqueología del viento (2011; 2013 International Latino Best Book Award), Todos somos Whitman (2014), En el jardín de los vientos. Obra poética: 1974-2014 (2014: Edición crítica de la Academia). Recipient of the Simón Bolívar Prize, a Fulbright-Hays grant, the Order of the Hispanic National Honor Society, among others.
Manlio Argueta (San Miguel, El Salvador, 1935) is a poet and novelist, whose works include En el costado de la luz (1968), De aquí en adelante (1970), Las bellas armas reales (1979); Un día en la vida (1981), Cuscatlán bate la mar del Sur (1986), El valle de las hamacas (1968), Caperucita en la Zona Roja (Novela de Casa de las Américas Prize, Cuba, 1977) and Rosario de la Paz (1996). He is a member of the so-called Generación Comprometida, a group of artists dedicated to a life of social, political and cultural activism.
León Félix Batista (Santo Domingo, 1964) has published works such as Negro eterno, Vicio, Burdel nirvana, Mosaico fluido, Pseudolibro, Delirium semen, Caducidad, Música ósea, Se borra si es leído, Prosa del que está en la esfera, Inflamable, Sin textos no hay paradiso, Joda poética completa, El hedor de lo real en la nariz imaginaria and Un minuto de retraso mental. His work has been translated into various languages.
Tomás Modesto Galán is a Dominican writer who, since 1986, has been living in New York. He is the author of Los cuentos de Mount Hope (novel, 1995); Al margen del color (novel, 2014); Subway, Vida subterránea y otras confesiones (poetry, 2008); Amor en bicicleta y otros poemas (Letras de Ultramar Prize, 2014). Winner of Americas Poetry Festival of New York’s “Poet of 2015”.
Gladys Ilarregui (Argentina) is currently a professor of colonial and Latin American literature at the University of Delaware. In 1994, she received the Federico García Lorca Prize (Spain) and the Plural Prize (Mexico), the International Borges Prize in 1999, and the Arthur P. Whitaker Prize in 2003. Among her published collections of poetry are El libro de vidrio / The Glass Book, translated by América Martínez-Cruzado (2012), Poemas a medianoche / Poems at Midnight (2003) and Indian Journeys (1994).
Amado Láscar (Chile, 1956) has published poetry and short stories, in both Spanish and English, in Australia, Chile, Spain, India, Puerto Rico, and the United States. His poetry collections include La misma lluvia por distintos cerros (2016), Los patios inundados (2011), De razones y proporciones (2008), La enorme trompa del C-5 (2002), Cosa nostra (1994), Axul (1996), Bailarina Topless (1986), Balneario (1987), Traspuerta (1984), Penúltima Década (1983).
Carlos Parada Ayala (San Juan Opico, El Salvador, 1956) is the author of a bilingual book of poems, La luz de la tormenta / The Light of the Storm (Zozobra Publishing, Maryland, 2013), and co-editor of the anthology Al pie de la Casa Blanca: Poetas hispanos de Washington, DC, published by the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (New York, 2010). He has a B.A. in Hispanic and Brazilian literature from Amherst College.
Ivonne Sánchez Barea (Spain, Colombia and USA) is the author of eleven poetry collections and her work is included in various anthologies. Her biography appears in the Cátedra Miguel Delibes. In addition to belonging to several associations and cultural movements, she delivers conferences in Spain and Latin America and actively participates in international poetry festivals. She is the recipient of numerous literary prizes and has exhibited her artistic work on three continents.