One Land, Split Destinies

At one time, the whole of Hispaniola
was as lush as the Dominican Republic

Poet and licensed psychotherapist, Marianela Madrano returns to the Stamford area to read selections at Barnes & Noble this evening from Diosas de la Yuca/Goddessof the Yuca (Madrid, Ediciones Torremozas) and newer material delineating the ties between politically-tormented Haiti—the first nation to abolish slavery in the Americas--and its verdant neighbor, the Dominican Republic, and how Western European colonization has perpetuated Hispaniola’s painful dichotomy to this day.

Side-by-side with this narrative is a discourse on the region as seen through the archetypal lens of its original Taino culture—especially as expressed via feminine power and spirituality both then and in the post-Columbian period.

Decades of poverty-induced deforestation
have devastated much of Haiti's ecosystem

A native of the Domincan Republic, Marianela lives in Connecticut with her husband, fellow poet and bibliotherapist Reggie Marra, where, since 1990 she has used writing and literature as tools for healing, social development and creative growth through the Palabra Learning Center.  

Marianela’s work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies throughout the Americas and in Europe, including Callalo 23.3 (Summer 2000), Sisters of Caliban: Contemporary Women Poets of the Carribean (New York, Azul Editions, 1997) and Revista Surgai (Bilbao, Spain, December 1995).

Besides 2011’s Diosas, her own titles include Curada de Espantos/One Who Has Seen It All (Madrid, Ediciones Torrzaemos, 2002), Regando Esencias/The Scent of Waiting (New York, Alcance, 1998), as well as Prietica, a children’s book to be released this spring.

“The Black Bellybutton of a Bongo” is her contribution to Callalo; also, click here to enjoy some live readings by her and Reggie and other details of their work from the June 12, 2012 PoemAlley blog entry, “A Call To Be A Bodhisattva: Poetry As The Art Of Healing”.

The Black Bellybutton of a Bongo

After contributing troops to the American
revolutionary cause, Hatians repelled
attempted re-colonization by Napoleon's
forces in 1802 

The blue-eyed grandmother 
    blue-black ears 
used to tell tales of boogie men 
    of black boogie men 
Stories of embroidered linen 
    white sheets 
    virginal sex 
    secrets of pots and beans 
    magic wand to cook good fortune 
I lost my crystal slipper in the dust 
And the prince did not soothe my bruises 
Later it was all about cactus -- no tulips-- 
In the time set for war, grandmother 
Your stories slid down my skin 
    -black not trigueña, grandmother 
    -woman not doll, abuela 
Thunder came and lightning frayed the island 
    -it was the drum- 
    -cynical laughter bursting in curls 
    tough curls fighting chemicals 
    singing kinkily and happily in the air 
Black mellow dark beautiful majesty 
I stared it in the eye 
    a wide and indivisible geography 
Since then I am a doubt planting questions 
    sharp arrow is my tongue 
    my entire body 
Before the rust I found my voice 
    my eyelashes dusted time 
I am a heroine in the jungle, grandmother 
    I see the night patrol 
        the palm trees 
            the fire 
        Yemaya with her belly made of water 
            the areito 
                Yocahu-vagua 
a little black girl prays for water 
the baquini multiplies flags 
the box of many colors, did you forget it, abuela? 
The hand closed to your bones 
    shakes a spring of twigs 
    -don't be afraid, abuela- 
Lemba greets you kindly.

Below is the trailer for the 2001 film adaptation of Julia Alvarez’ In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), the fictionalized account of the Mirabal sister’s courageous resistance movement to the terrifying U.S.-supported rule of Raphael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic (1930-1961):

Hosted by Frank Chambers and PoemAlley's Nick Miele, the Barnes & Noble's Open Mic Poetry program meets the second Monday of each month in the cooking section on the main floor of the bookstore (located in the Stamford Town Center), beginning at 7:15 p.m.

 

For more information, contact:

Barnes & Noble

100 Greyrock Place Suite H009

Stamford, CT 06901

203-323-1248

___

Additional Information:

Love in theTime of Butterflies

By Julia Alvarez

Algonquin Books, 2010

Haiti Afterthe Earthquake

Paul Farmer

PublicAffairs, 2011

Uses of Haiti

"          "

Common Courage Press, 2005 

A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Carribean Destiny
Mark Kurlansky
Da Capo Press, 1993

The Tainos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus

Irving Rouse

Yale University Press, 1993

Navigating Inner Reaches On Sails Of Words & Color

 Located in downtown Westport, the Temenos Institute is an educational and psychotherapeutical non-profit organization offering lectures,creative personal development and counseling services centered on Jungian psychology, Joseph Campbell's theory of myth and related avenues of analytical inquiry.

                 Tonight it will host a poetry presentation including readings by Dale Shaw, Ralph Nazareth, Richard Duffee and other PoemAlley members.

Mixing esoteric concepts with self-discovery and creative development, the Temenos Institute has hosted talks ranging from eidetic imagery, discussed by Ahsen psychotherapist Jaqueline Lapa Sussman and mythic archetypes in art, to Jung-inspired remote viewing research in Russia by Dr.David Shaver.

                                                               









A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, 2011) brings to life Carl Jung’s development of his famous theory of mind against the reluctant patronage of mentor Sigmund Freud and the support of patient/lover and collaborator Sabina Spieltrein:

When:

Friday, January 25, 2013

8:00 PM

Where:

Temenos Institute, Inc.

29 E. Main Street 
Westport, Connecticut 06880

Phone: 203- 227-4388

A Love Across Greatest Generation(s)

Next Monday evening at Barnes & Noble, Stamford-based writer Nancy A. Prieston discusses and reads selections from I’ll Never Leave You, her life-spanning novel inspired by an 18-page story, shared between her parents while divided by the events of World War II.

Beleaguered by neglect, the early passing of her mother and chronic illness, a young Anna initially draws the attention of Dan, a considerably older gifted woodworker, in Depression-era Greenwich, CT, igniting a romance defined by an enduring tenderness and support lacking in Anna’s life up to then.

Never Leave reproduces in its entirety “The Cherished Book” in original form, the sustaining tribute of love long-sought by Anna, which was originally penned by Nancy Prieston's father, Dan, during his service abroad.  

Nancy maintains an educational program for toddlers based in Stamford, CT. Contact her about her current and upcoming projects at nancyplunion@gmail.com.

Hosted by Frank Chambers and PoemAlley's Nick Miele, the Barnes & Noble's Open Mic Poetry program meets the second Monday of each month in the cookbook section on the main floor of the bookstore (located in the Stamford Down Center), beginning at 7:15 p.m.

 For more information, contact:

Barnes & Noble

100 Greyrock Place Suite H009

Stamford, CT 06901

203-323-1248