(Albuquerque, New Mexico) -- The National Hispanic Cultural Center presents a reading and book-signing by Margaret Randall with her new book, Voices from the Center of the World: Contemporary Poets of Ecuador Saturday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m. The reading is free and open to the public and will be held in the Salón Ortega of the historic History and Literary Arts Building on the NHCC campus.
Randall has gathered and translated 25 poets born in Ecuador between 1926 and 1993. These include some cultural heroes of the 20th century, and many of the voices that define political dissent.
Voices from the Center of the World also focuses on a new generation of poets, especially women and indigenous poets born after 1950. Especially exciting are poets writing in the Kichwa language, Ariruma Kowii and Lucila Lema, who serve as custodians of indigenous knowledge and imaginations.
“Writing out of the soul of Ecuador these poets transform the din of everyday life into music. Exquisite translations mean that an English-speaking world can join the dance. What a joy to read this anthology!” writes Demetria Martínez, author of Mother Tongue.
Margaret Randall has crowned a lifelong commitment to art and activism with an enormous body of work in the last 10 years. She is the author of more than 50 books and a recipient of the 2019 Haydée Santamaría Medal from Casa de las Americas in Havana, and the prestigious 2019 Poeta de Dos Hemisferios, presented by Ecuador’s Poesía en Paralelo Cero. In 2017, she was awarded the Medal of Literary Merit by Literatura en el Bravo, Chihuahua, Mexico.
About the National Hispanic Cultural Center: The National Hispanic Cultural Center is dedicated to the preservation, promotion and advancement of Hispanic culture, arts and humanities, and is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. The National Hispanic Cultural Center is located at 1701 Fourth Street SW in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
