MIAMI – Caribbean-American writers, Ricardo Pau-Llosa and Geoffrey Philp will be reading from their own work and that of other Caribbean poets on Saturday, December 13, 2008, at 8 p.m. at the Morella Art Gallery, on the strip on Hollywood Boulevard, in Hollywood Florida. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.
The event is a celebration of the wondrous images and rhythms which emanate from the Caribbean—the world’s first true melting pot of races, cultures, religions and languages.
“Ricardo and I have wanted to read together for a very long time and after his reading at the Miami Book Fair International, he and I just sat down and worked out the details,” said Philp. “I’ve always admired Ricardo’s work and this will be an opportunity for us to share with others not only our own work, but the work of poets whose work has influenced us.”
Pau-Llosa adds, “The Caribbean is the mother of the New World. It is a paradoxical region—fragile and intense, a lush paradise that also gave birth to the first agro-industries on the planet, a setting that melds cultures and creeds but where ancient rites and beliefs thrive to this day. Its poetry captures all of this.”
About the Writers
Ricardo Pau-Llosa
Ricardo Pau-Llosa is a Cuban-American poet, pioneer art critic of Latin American art in the US and Europe, and author of short fiction. His books include Parable Hunter (2008), The Mastery Impulse (2003), Vereda Tropical (1999), and Cuba (1993)—all from Carnegie Mellon U Press. He was recently featured on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, and his work has appeared in numerous anthologies. His website is www.pau-llosa.com
Geoffrey Philp
Geoffrey Philp is the Jamaican-American author of Benjamin, my son, Uncle Obadiah and the Alien, numerous poetry collections, and a children’s book, Grandpa Sydney’s Anancy Stories. Geoffrey teaches English at Miami Dade College where he is the chairperson of the College Prep. Department at the North Campus. His next collection of short stories, Who’s Your Daddy? And Other Stories will be published by Peepal Tree Press in May 2009. Geoffrey maintains a blog at http://geoffreyphilp.blogspot.com.
