Chileans have a special respect for nature; they’ve experienced so many earthquakes that those that live on the coast know to literally run for the hills to escape a possible tsunami after a strong quake. Along with this respect comes an admiration for nature. The two Chilean Nobel Laureates show this through their constant references to the sea, the forest, the mountains and the birds. Here are some examples.

Pine Forest by Gabriela Mistral

Let us go now into the forest.
Trees will pass by your face,
and I will stop and offer you to them,
but they cannot bend down.
The night watches over its creatures,
except for the pine trees that never change:
the old wounded springs that spring
blessed gum, eternal afternoons.
If they could, the trees would lift you
and carry you from valley to valley,
and you would pass from arm to arm,
a child running
from father to father

Those Who Do not Dance by Gabriela Mistral

A crippled child
Said, “How shall I dance?”
Let your heart dance
We said.

Then the invalid said:
“How shall I sing?”
Let your heart sing
We said

Then spoke the poor dead thistle,
“But I, how shall I dance?”
Let your heart fly to the wind
We said.

Then God spoke from above
“How shall I descend from the blue?”
Come dance for us here in the light
We said.

All the valley is dancing
Together under the sun,
And the heart of him who joins us not
Is turned to dust, to dust.

Water by Pablo Neruda

Everything on the earth bristled, the bramble
pricked and the green thread
nibbled away, the petal fell, falling
until the only flower was the falling itself.
Water is another matter,
has no direction but its own bright grace,
runs through all imaginable colors,
takes limpid lessons
from stone,
and in those functionings plays out
the unrealized ambitions of the foam.

Bird by Pablo Neruda

It was passed from one bird to another,
the whole gift of the day.
The day went from flute to flute,
went dressed in vegetation,
in flights which opened a tunnel
through the wind would pass
to where birds were breaking open
the dense blue air -
and there, night came in.

When I returned from so many journeys,
I stayed suspended and green
between sun and geography -
I saw how wings worked,
how perfumes are transmitted
by feathery telegraph,
and from above I saw the path,
the springs and the roof tiles,
the fishermen at their trades,
the trousers of the foam;
I saw it all from my green sky.
I had no more alphabet
than the swallows in their courses,
the tiny, shining water
of the small bird on fire
which dances out of the pollen.

-Silvia Viñas
Photos: Wikimedia Commons

However, you don’t have to cross the ocean (or pay the extra shipping) to get a different cover for your favorite book; when it comes to classics and world wide bestsellers, sometimes the same publisher will put out different covers for one book. Here are three versions from the same publisher, Penguin Books Ltd. The first book was recently reviewed in our Voices section.

Which cover would you take?

-Silvia Viñas

Photos: Bookstore.co.uk

And so the novel starts out. The most beautiful opening paragraph I’ve ever read in my life. And unless you are heartless or have never been in love, I don’t know how this wouldn’t at least rank somewhere on your list of most beautiful passages.

By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept was written by Paulo Coelho. He is best known for writing The Alchemist which just so happens to be my least favorite of the three books I’ve read by him. My introduction to Coehlo was The Zahir which was, like the other two I read, a beautiful story of love. Neither of those however prepared me for the beauty I would find in that very first paragraph of the novel.

It then continues:

“By the River Piedra I sat down and wept. The winter air chills the tears on my cheeks, and my tears fall into the cold waters that course past me. Somewhere this river joins another, then another, until – far from my heart and sight – all of them merge with the sea.”

A couple pages later the protagonist, Pilar, takes us back to the beginning to tell the story of how she ended up weeping for this young man. They seemed to have always loved each other, even as childhood friends. However, they grew up and took separate paths in life. He chose to leave their small town to learn about the world (a theme present in both The Alchemist and The Zahir) while she chose to take the prescribed path of enrolling in a nearby university. They kept in touch throughout his travels, and one day he invited Pilar to hear him give a lecture in Madrid.

The story is a whirlwind from here. Pilar struggles to accept and embrace her feelings for him. He struggles to reconcile his love for the seminary, the gifts he has been given and the love he has held onto for so many years. While the beauty of their love story as it unfolds kept me wanting more, I found myself disappointed, especially toward the end when I didn’t feel the same intensity of emotions as I did with the opening paragraphs.

Like the other Coelho books I’ve read, By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept carries a spiritual theme, as he touches quite a bit on the mystical nature of God. In this particular piece, he focuses on the young man’s belief in a feminine God that grants him the power to heal. For some this may be an appealing aspect of Coehlo’s writings, but it tends to throw me off. It gives me some of the same vibes that the Celestine Prophecy gave me, which is more eerie than anything else.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book. I have two more books by Coelho that I want to read, one of them comes with high praise from Melissa. And if you know me, you’ll know that there are very few authors from whom I’ve read more than one book. I must really like this guy. 

–Mademoiselle Mitchell

Women Culture and Politics by Angela Y. Davis: There aren’t many who break down race/class/gender struggles as eloquently as Angela Y. Davis. Her political activism over reaches the struggle for Black liberation. Davis’ work in prison reform and womanism are unparalleled, but we know this already (or we should). This collection of eighteen essays reads like a manifesto, for working class women of color. Davis captures the interconnectedness of the abuse and mistreatment of women and a capitalist agenda that perpetuates such conditions.  I enjoy reading Davis’ works because she expects a certain level of familiarity and understanding to comprehend what she writes. It is enriching because it is not easy, and somehow the reader walks away fuller and richer having read it.  this is all any writer can work towards and any reader can expect, and it is what I strive for as a writer. A quick quote from the book that I love:

“Politics do not stand in polar opposition to our lives. Whether we desire it or not, they permeate our existence, insinuating themselves into the most private spaces of our lives.”

Epic.

James Baldwin Collected Essays: There really is no one who breaks down the interplay of race in US culture and institutions like James Baldwin. Reading him simply makes me more thoughtful, self aware, stronger in my convictions, and a better student of the writing process.  Reading his essays are similar to simulating sex for me, his use of words are orgasmic. This collection includes “Notes of a Native Son,” “Nobody Knows My Name”, “The Fire Next Time,” “No Name in the Street,” “The Devil Finds Work,” and other essays, essentially providing the essence of Baldwin’s social commentary.  I suggest it for those who have read Go Tell It On the Mountain but seek to view Baldwin outside of his fictional works.  This book is my bible, I’ve highlighted, underlined it, and flagged it to death.  It is rare that I can’t go to it as a reference in hoping to understand what our fight for freedom is founded in.  It is much like a favorite musical score, beautiful written, rhythmic, riveting.

Anais Nin- Henry and June, From a Journal of Love- The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin

“Closer to what many sexually adventuresome women experience than almost anything I’ve ever read….I found it a very erotic book and profoundly liberating” (Alice Walker)

I just received this book on yesterday. I am a champion of Ananis Nin a writer of erotica, who is more widely known for her journaling.  Her descriptions of her love and her lovers are vivid, rich, decadent. Many may consider that description redundant, but it is not, she is each of those words individually as well as collectively.  Nin is one of those audacious women that I look to when I am unsure of my place. She says, be daring, be bold, be you, and be loved in all of those processes.  Nin writes: “I will not rest until I have told of my descent into a sensuality which was as dark, as magnificent, as wild, as my moments of mystic creation have been dazzling, ecstatic, exalted.” You simply have to love that…

Jo is a student, writer, blogger and lover of all things Baldwin. She pens the blog Just Jo Nubian and publishes poetry at Wordgasms. Follow her equally poetic tweets @BeautyNubian.

So tune into your local Latin radio station to get in the mood and read on. Here are three Latinas and six recommendations to get you started:

Cristina García

Picture from CristinaGarciaNovelist.com

Cristina García is a Cuban-born writer; she moved to the United States when she was two years old and grew up in New York City. She began her writing career as a journalist, working for The Boston Globe, the Knoxville Journal, and Time Magazine as a reporter, researcher and correspondent. In 1990 García left Time and began writing fiction. Two years later Dreaming in Cuban, her first novel, was published. It was a finalist for the National Book Award.

She has written three novels since then: The Agüero Sisters, Monkey Hunting and A Handbook to Luck. This year she will be releasing her fifth novel, The Lady Matador’s Hotel.

García’s writing is beautiful; sentences flow easily one to the next, making her novels painless and enjoyable to read. She is known for the way she approaches the Cuban-American experience, exploring the Cuban exile from different perspectives–not just the anti-Communist Revolution angle many expect her to take. Her novels are filled with universal motifs that can be understood by readers of all ethnicities.

Add to your to-read List: Dreaming in Cuban or The Agüero Sisters

Click here for her website.

Sandra Cisneros

Picture from Flickr user Gwinnett County Public Library used under Creative Commons License

Sandra Cisneros is the author of The House on Mango Street, a novel many schools include in their Middle and High School curriculum. She was born in Chicago and holds an M.F.A in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. She has written one other novel, Caramelo, published in 2002. Caramelo was named “notable book of the year” by several newspapers like The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times among others.

She has also written short stories, poetry and a children’s book.

Cisneros is the queen of the Chicano Literary Movement, being the first woman in the movement to get her work published by giants like Vintage and Random House. She skillfully exposes gender and race inequality with an accessible yet substantial writing style; her work is easy to read, but she tackles subjects that allow for insightful analysis of universal themes.

Add to your To-Read List: Caramelo or Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (short story collection)

Click here for her website.

Julia Alvarez

photo copyright © by Bill Eichner. All rights reserved.

Julia Alvarez was born in New York City but shortly thereafter moved to the Dominican Republic. Her stay in the Dominican Republic didn’t last very long due to her father’s involvement in the underground opposition to dictator Rafael Trujillo. She returned to the United States when she was ten years old. Alvarez earned a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Syracuse University and published her first novel, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, in 1991.

She has written five other novels (In The Time of the Butterflies, ¡Yo!, In the Name of Salomé, Saving the World and Return to Sender) as well as poetry, non-fiction, children and young adult books.

Alvarez is one of the most prominent Latina writers. Latinos living in the United States like the way her writing deals with issues they face; and Latinos living in Latin America like the way she describes significant historical and political events in the Caribbean. Her exceptionally well-developed characters have allowed women of all races to see their experiences reflected in her work.

Add to your To-Read List: In the Time of the Butterflies or In the Name of Salomé

Click here for her website.

-Silvia Viñas

Photo: be_haven