«I, the one who loves you» – Poem by Gioconda Belli

I, the one who loves you

I am your untamed gazelle
the thunder shattering the light on your chest.
I am the wind unchained in the mountain
and the concentrated radiance of the ocote’s fire.
I heat your nights
lighting volcanoes in my hands,
moistening your eyes with  my crater’s smoke.
I came towards you wrapped in rain and memories,
laughing the immutable laughter of the years.
I am the unexplored road,
the light that shatters the dark.
I put stars between your skin and mine
and overrun you thoroughly,
trail after trail,
unlacing my love,
undressing my fear.
I am a name that sings and seduces you
from the other side of the moon,
I am the extension of your smile and your body.
I am something that grows,
something that laughs and cries.
I,
the one who loves you.

Faded Painting by Nikolina Petolas

Yo, la que te quiere

Yo soy tu indómita gacela
el trueno que rompe la luz sobre tu pecho.
Yo soy el viento desatado en la montaña
y el fulgor concentrado del fuego del ocote.
Yo caliento tus noches
encendiendo volcanes en mis manos,
mojándote los ojos con el humo de mis cráteres.
Yo he llegado hasta vos vestida de lluvia y de recuerdo,
riendo la risa inmutable de los años.
Yo soy el inexplorado camino,
la claridad que rompe la tiniebla.
Yo pongo estrellas entre tu piel y la mía
y te recorro entero,
sendero tras sendero,
descalzando mi amor,
desnudando mi miedo.
Yo soy un nombre que canta y te enamora
desde el otro lado de la luna,
soy la prolongación de tu sonrisa y tu cuerpo.
Yo soy algo que crece,
algo que ríe y llora.
Yo,
la que te quiere.

Gioconda Belli

Gioconda Belli (born December 9, 1948 in Managua, Nicaragua) is a Nicaraguan author, novelist and poet.

Website:
https://giocondabelli.org/

 

Acqua Alta Library – Venice, Italy

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats. 
At Calle Longa Santa Maria Formosa you can visit a bookshop, which every time the water of the canals rises above a certain level, it floods, in fact, its furniture to hold books it was designed to float in case of high tide . You can find your books inside a bathtub, an old boat or a gondola. It is easily recognizable from the outside, because, on the door, you can see the inscription “Welcome to the most beautiful bookshop in the world”.

The self-proclaimed “most beautiful bookstore in the world” is composed of a number of over-stuffed rooms stacked wall-to-wall with books, magazines, maps and other ephemera. Due to Venice’s constant flooding however, these pictures piles are all placed inside bathtubs, waterproof bins, and in one room a full-size gondola. The name itself even means “Book Store of High Water.” When the local waterways do rise to fill the well-known store, it can rise inches off the floor, which would destroy any other collection. The store’s whimsically cramped atmosphere is even reflected in their “fire escape” which is simply a door leading directly out into a canal.

To really complete the look, the store has become home to more than one stray cat which are also able to escape the rising tides by hanging out atop the stacks.   

The owner Mr  Luigi welcomes everyone with a big smile. From the inside you can have a view of the canal from the top after climbing up a ladder made of large books. The library is open every day from 08.00 to 20.00.

Credit. verynicevenice.com

 

‘Suite Française’ by Irène Némirovsky

Irène Némirovsky

Irène Némirovsky Birthdate: 24. February 1903 / Date of death: 17. August 1942

Irène Némirovsky was a novelist of Ukrainian Jewish origin born in Kiev Ukraine under the Russian Empire; she lived more than half her life in France, and wrote in French, but was denied French citizenship. Arrested as a Jew under the racial laws – which did not take into account her conversion to Roman Catholicism – she died at Auschwitz at the age of 39. Némirovsky is best known for the posthumously published Suite Française.

❝ After the calm comes the storm; it starts out slowly, reaches its peak, then it's over and other periods of calm, some longer, some shorter, come along. It's just been our bad luck to be born in a century full of storms, that's all. They'll die down.❞

Irène Némirovsky, Suite Française

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By the early l940s, when Ukrainian-born Irène Némirovsky began working on what would become Suite Française—the first two parts of a planned five-part novel—she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz: a month later she was dead at the age of thirty-nine. Two years earlier, living in a small village in central France—where she, her husband, and their two small daughters had fled in a vain attempt to elude the Nazis—she’d begun her novel, a luminous portrayal of a human drama in which she herself would become a victim. When she was arrested, she had completed two parts of the epic, the handwritten manuscripts of which were hidden in a suitcase that her daughters would take with them into hiding and eventually into freedom. Sixty-four years later, at long last, we can read Némirovsky’s literary masterpiece

The first part, «A Storm in June,» opens in the chaos of the massive 1940 exodus from Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion during which several families and individuals are thrown together under circumstances beyond their control. They share nothing but the harsh demands of survival—some trying to maintain lives of privilege, others struggling simply to preserve their lives—but soon, all together, they will be forced to face the awful exigencies of physical and emotional displacement, and the annihilation of the world they know. In the second part, «Dolce,» we enter the increasingly complex life of a German-occupied provincial village. Coexisting uneasily with the soldiers billeted among them, the villagers—from aristocrats to shopkeepers to peasants—cope as best they can. Some choose resistance, others collaboration, and as their community is transformed by these acts, the lives of these these men and women reveal nothing less than the very essence of humanity.

Suite Française: Storm in June: A Graphic Novel by Emmanuel Moynot

Suite Française is a singularly piercing evocation—at once subtle and severe, deeply compassionate, and fiercely ironic—of life and death in occupied France, and a brilliant, profoundly moving work of art. 

 

Mercedes Pinto: ‘La poetisa canaria’

Mercedes Pinto nació en la ciudad de San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife) en 1883, hija del reconocido escritor Francisco María Pinto. Desde muy joven fue conocida en el ambiente literario de la isla por sus dotes creativas y la temprana publicación de sus poemas en la prensa insular.

En los años 20 llega a Madrid y traba amistad con personalidades como Ortega y Gasset y Carmen de Burgos, entre otros. Colabora en prestigiosos diarios y revistas españoles y publica su primer libro de versos: Brisas del Teide. Allí dictará también su polémica conferencia, “El divorcio como medida higiénica”, motivo directo de su exilio bajo la dictadura de Primo de Rivera.

En 1924 Mercedes se marcha a Uruguay, donde conocerá el éxito y donde inicia una brillante y diversificada carrera. A partir de entonces, el resto de su obra literaria, así como su intensa labor de divulgación cultural (fundó en Montevideo la “Casa del Estudiante”, la Asociación de Escritores Teatrales y su propia Compañía de Arte Moderno) y su trabajo en pro de la educación, las libertades y los derechos (fue una reconocida líder feminista, participó en el diseño de modernos planes educativos y defendió los derechos de mujeres, obreros, niños y judíos) se irá desarrollando en los distintos países latinoamericanos (Uruguay, Chile, Cuba y México) donde residió hasta su muerte en 1976.

Texto: Alicia Llarena

– Cartas a una extraña, de Mercedes Pinto Maldonado

.✩┈┈∘┈˃̶୨୧˂̶┈∘┈┈✩.

Comparto con vosotros uno de los poemas de Mercedes Pinto incluidos en Cantos de muchos puertos [Editorial: Torremozas. Año: 2017]

°.✩┈┈∘*┈˃̶୨୧˂̶┈*∘┈┈✩.°

Rebelión

Ven y dame tu mano, que en la mía
será como de bronce,
y así fundidas
romperemos el mundo, si en el mundo
vallas levantan manos enemigas.

Iremos muy erguidas las cabezas,
con Cupido en los brazos, hecho carne,
para decirles,
a los sordos y ciegos de la Vida,
que deshicimos torres de prejuicios
golpeando con las frentes en las piedras;
que quitamos las uñas a las garras
de los buitres rastreros,
y libertados,
hicimos mariposas con las hojas
de las leyes antiguas,
y juguetes a nuestro Cupidillo,
con las viejas argollas
de las cadenas de la Tierra…

30 de Mayo | Día de Canarias 🇮🇨

 

«Sea Fever» by John Masefield

«And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.»

Poem by JOHN MASEFIELD

🔹️🔵🔹️🔵🔹️🔵🔹️🔵🔹️🔵🔹️🔵🔹️🔵🔹️

📌Thanks to everyone who follows my blog for your patience and for being there. If time and health allow me, I will continue uploading art in all its forms. 🥰

 

«Mararìa» de Rafael Arozarena (30 Mayo-Día de Canarias)

Cualquier día es bueno para hablar de libros pero hoy, 30 de Mayo (Celebración del Día de Canarias) es perfecto para hablar de ‘Mararía» del autor tinerfeño Rafael Arozarena, inspirado en su propia vivencia en Femés y en un personaje real, una vieja misteriosa de la que aún se recordaba su belleza de juventud. De aquella anécdota y referencias mitológicas, Arozarena compuso un cuento épico cargado de mucha poesía en sus descripciones.

• 

La obra fue publicada en 1973, pero la historia se desarrolla en dos tiempos indeterminados del franquismo. Apenas hay referencias temporales, salvo la existencia de un viejo camión, por lo que parece una historia suspendida en el tiempo en la que los acontecimientos históricos quedan muy lejos de Lanzarote.
Precisamente el paisaje y las características de Lanzarote son un elemento clave en la historia.

Esa descripción de la isla como animal muerto es una constante en la visión que los propios personajes tienen de Lanzarote.

“Por la llanura de jables y caliches corrían las sombras de los montes como tres dedos negros. Atrás, lejos aún, venía la sombra grande, la sombra de Timanfaya, que ya no es ni sombra de cordillera. Por allí está la Montaña de Fuego, que es el corazón y permanece caliente como si la isla recién acabase de morir”.

Vistas desde la falda de la Atalaya de Femés. A la izquierda pueden verse las casas del pueblo y, al fondo, y delante de las arenas de Corralejo, la Isla de Lobos

Pero si hay una identificación con la isla es la de la protagonista, tanto en el volcán que fue bajo la superficie como en la tierra yerma en que se convirtió:

“Mararía es larga y seca como la isla de Lanzarote”.

Mararía en el cine

En 1998 se estrenó una película basada en el libro, que centraba el protagonismo en uno de los personajes, un médico vasco interpretado por Carmelo Gómez, que llegaba a la isla para enamorarse en silencio de Mararía. Un día aparece un apuesto inglés llamado Beltrahn (Iain Glen), que ganará el amor de Mararía y desatará la ira de Fermín, quien conducirá a los enamorados a la desgracia, destruyéndose a la vez él mismo y convirtiéndose en otra clase de persona, capaz de llegar a matar por amor.
La encargada de interpretar al personaje de Mararia fue la canaria Goya Toledo en el que tal vez haya sido el papel más importante de su carrera después de Amores Perros.

Las imágenes espectaculares de Lanzarote le valió a la película un Goya a la mejor fotografía. Además, la banda sonora de Pedro Guerra aportaba la poesía a las imágenes.

«María no parece ser más que un preciado tesoro a ojos de los que la desean y así la pasión que produce en los hombres es su fuente de desgracia.»

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  Autor Rafael Arozarena

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Uncle Vanya in cinemas

«This is a Vanya for our times.’ (Evening Standard)

Don’t miss the five-star, multi Olivier-nominated production that is coming to cinemas for a limited time this October: www.unclevanyacinema.com

Toby Jones as Vanya

Richard Armitage & Rosalind Eleazar

Check out the trailer below for the upcoming cinema presentation of the recent London revival of Uncle Vanya, featuring cast members Toby Jones, Richard Armitage, Rosalind Eleazar, Aimee Lou Wood, Anna Calder-Marshall, Dearbhla Molloy, Peter Wight, and Roger Allam (the latter replacing Ciarán Hinds, who was unavailable for filming). The Ian Rickson-helmed production, featuring an adaptation by Conor McPherson, was filmed at the Harold Pinter Theatre under strict guidelines to maintain safety during the coronavirus pandemic. Uncle Vanya was in the final weeks of its London run when the shutdown went into effect. The film capture, directed for the screen by Ross MacGibbon, arrives in theatres across the U.K. and Ireland October 27. A BBC broadcast is also planned, with dates to be announced.

 

120 years ago the legendary Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born

I have read many books in my time and there are many that have remained in my mind and consciousness forever.

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint Exupery is one that has never abandoned me.

The story is moving in its beauty and the innocence of both the author and its little protagonist. It is full of wit and wisdom, as well as words and concepts so moving that you do not know whether to laugh or cry.

The Little Prince , the best-selling and most translated French children’s book in history , came out in the United States in 1943, a year and a few months before the author’s death. But in France, the Gallimard publishing house was only able to publish it in 1946, when nearly two years had passed since the plane crash over the Mediterranean Sea that cost Antoine de Saint-Exupéry his life on July 31, 1944.

Born in Lyon on June 29, 1900, the writer and aviator failed to enjoy the popularity the story of the lonely boy living on the small asteroid B612 achieved.

Since January 1, 2015, when the 70th anniversary of the death of Saint-Exupéry was completed and the rights of The Little Prince became public domain, numerous versions were published. Among the more than 300 languages and dialects into which it was translated are Toba, Hassanya (a variant of North African Arabic), and Kackchikel (spoken by an Aboriginal people in Guatemala). There are braille and morse code editions.

Also, a feminist adaptation with inclusive language, La Principesa, published by the Spanish publisher Espejos Literarios in 2018. The story, which is dedicated to an adult «when he was a child», as the author clarifies, was also taken to the cinema, the theater , television, dance and anime. The first translation into Spanish was made in Argentina, in 1951, by Bonifacio del Carril.

 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse By Charlie Mackesy.

 

“What is the bravest thing you ever said?” asked the boy.

“Help,” said the horse.

 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a beautiful hardback hits the mood of the moment just perfectly. Charlie Mackesy, longtime illustrator to The Spectator, has produced a collection of philosophical gems as he pens the journey of an bunch of oddball companions, a boy, mole, fox and horse, searching for what life is all about.

The iconic captioned illustrations are a sequence they speak a universal language about friendship and kindness. At odd and difficult times that the ones we are living lately you can dip into the book and the sentiments will punch you right to the heart!

 

“When the dark clouds come… keep going.”

“When the big things feel out of control… focus on what you love right under your nose.”

What’s the best things about storms? “That they end,” said the horse

Charlie Mackesy was born during a snowy winter in Northumberland. He has been a cartoonist for The Spectator and a book illustrator for Oxford University Press. He has collaborated with Richard Curtis for Comic Relief, and Nelson Mandela on a lithograph project, “The Unity Series.” He has lived and painted in South Africa, Southern Africa and New Orleans, and co-runs a social enterprise, Mama Buci, in Zambia, which helps families of low and no income to become beekeepers. He lives in London but is often in Suffolk.

(Text from https://www.harpercollins.com/author/cr-134116/charlie-mackesy/)

Photo from The Telegrah

Website: https://www.charliemackesy.com/

In recent days, through his instagram account, Charlie has contributed with his art to the support and admiration that we all feel towards Health Care Workers and all those workers without whom this confinement would be much more difficult.  We know how hard they work and care, on a normal day. They have ALWAYS deserved our support; then, now and in the future.

Thanks Charlie.

 

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¿Por què cantamos? ~ Mario Benedetti

 

Un hombre toca la guitarra desde el balcón de su casa, en Turín. Reuters

 

Si cada hora viene con su muerte

si el tiempo es una cueva de ladrones

los aires ya no son los buenos aires

la vida es nada más que un blanco móvil

 

usted preguntará por qué cantamos

 

si nuestros bravos quedan sin abrazo

la patria se nos muere de tristeza

y el corazón del hombre se hace añicos

antes aún que explote la vergüenza

 

usted preguntará por qué cantamos

 

si estamos lejos como un horizonte

si allá quedaron árboles y cielo

si cada noche es siempre alguna ausencia

y cada despertar un desencuentro

 

usted preguntará por que cantamos

 

cantamos por qué el río está sonando

y cuando suena el río / suena el río

cantamos porque el cruel no tiene nombre

y en cambio tiene nombre su destino

 

cantamos por el niño y porque todo

y porque algún futuro y porque el pueblo

cantamos porque los sobrevivientes

y nuestros muertos quieren que cantemos

 

cantamos porque el grito no es bastante

y no es bastante el llanto ni la bronca

cantamos porque creemos en la gente

y porque venceremos la derrota

 

cantamos porque el sol nos reconoce

y porque el campo huele a primavera

y porque en este tallo en aquel fruto

cada pregunta tiene su respuesta

 

cantamos porque llueve sobre el surco

y somos militantes de la vida

y porque no podemos ni queremos

dejar que la canción se haga ceniza.

MARIO BENEDETTI .