The
Veladas Hostosianas |Hostos Culture Talks, hosted by the Office of the President is a grounding place to meet and learn for the campus community. Such was the occasion of April 27, 2021, and the proper tribute to Norberto James Rawlings.
Only a poet can elicit oratory candor in English, Italian, and Spanish. The words in honor, for the late and great Dominican poet reverberated. Colleagues, family and friends lined up to express their heart felt on the poet’s humanist and literary amplitude. The moving eulogies captured the greatness of a man of words.
Dr. James Rawlings knew how to use the power of words. He consistently challenged himself to write about things that were wrong in society as well as transcendental beauty, on the tears of cross-Caribbean migration, and the meaning behind being citizens of the Americas. During his homage, Professor Conrad James remarked, “His poems help because of his humility, which helps us see the nobility in others.”
“It’s social poetry,” says Soledad Álvarez about James. “He wrote the everyday from his soul, from what is around him, from the lived experience, more than an autobiography of how to live.”
Guests came-in-and-out, arrived, and shared with ease on the virtual platform. The seamless ceremony was moderated by Professor Silvio Torres-Saillant of Syracuse University and Hostos Associate Dean of Community Relations Ana I. García Reyes who introduced and welcomed Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Professor Beth Wellington and the rest of the distinguished guests.
Participants | A Tribute to the Poet Norberto James Rawlings
Professor Silvio Torres-Saillant, Syracuse University,
host
Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis,
welcoming greetings
Hostos Associate Dean of Community Relations Ana García Reyes,
co-host
And
Professor Beth Wellington
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Alan West-Duran, poet and scholar, Northeastern University
Efrain Barradas, professor emeritus, University of Florida
Juan Matos, poet and educator, coordinator TERTULIA MIERCOLETRAS
Rhina P. Espaillat, award-winning poet and translator, TERTULIA MIERCOLETRAS
Juan Freddy Armando, poet, writer, consultant, TERTULIA MIERCOLETRAS
Néstor E. Rodríguez, director Caribbean studies program, University of Toronto
Mateo Morrison, poet, founder of the Cesar Vallejo Literary Workshop
Soledad Álvarez, poet, essayist, and literary scholar
Néstor E. Rodríguez, director, Caribbean studies program, University of Toronto
Conrad James, director of World Literatures and Cultures, University of Houston
Enric Bou, former chair of the Spanish Department, Brown University, Venice, Italy
James (Jim) Iffland, professor, Boston University
Omar Cordova, Cuban government communications liaison
Lourdes Batista, poet and activist, head of
Comisionado de Cultura Dominicana
Hostos Interim President Daisy Cocco De Filippis called the tribute, “a show of respect and honor from literary legends and academics who knew Norberto as a giant of the pen.”
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