Chicano literary bard alurista brings his legendary poetry skills to Houston today for the last two reading of his Texas book tour for Tunaluna, his newest collection. Dubbed "The Poet Wizard of Aztlan" for his unique use of multilingual writings and his integration of American Indian language, he continues to perfect his intricate word play tradition as only he can in his tenth volume of poems. His first publication in 10 years, the 52-poem compilation of mostly new works is a special commemoration for the newly founded Aztlan Libre Press. (http://www.aztlanlibrepress.com)
"It is our first book to go to print and will take readers on a time trip through the first decade of the 21st century," says press founder Juan Tejeda.
alurista also happens to be a shining example of a Latino that deserves some mad respect on this last day of Hispanic Heritage Month. He is one of the first critically acclaimed Latino writers who sparked the 1970's Chicano literary movement. His poetry became the political manifesto for the cause. He was the founder of the first Chicano literary festival, held at the University of California in 1973, and he helped to create the Chicano studies department at San Diego State University. After earning a Ph.D in Spanish and Latin American Literature, alurista taught at colleges in California, Denver and at U.T. -- Austin.
"alurista is a well-known poet in our community that gained some fame 25 -- 30 years ago but he hasn't published anything in 10 years. It's clear to me that this current generation doesn't have a clue who he is, so we're very pleased to bring him here," says Tatcho Mindiola, Director of Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston. (http://www.class.uh.edu/CMAS)
NP caught up with "The Poet Wizard" on his whirlwind tour that blows through town today.
NP: I've been told that you were the first poet to use both Spanish and English in your poetry. Is it true? Were you the first bilingual poet?
alurista: My first collection, Floricanto en Aztlán (1971), was the one that inaugurated that form in modern Chicano literature. This is not to say that other Chicanos have not written bilingually. In 1939, Americo Paredes wrote poetry and was playing with bilingual expressions. I can't say that I'm the founder of that form of expression but I can say that in the modern world of Chicano literature, from the 60s on, I'm the exponent that brought it to the forum again and became a paradigm for new forms of expression in American Literature that came to be known as Chicano Literature.
NP: You're renowned for seamlessly intermixing Spanish, English, Nahuatl and Maya in a natural poetic flow. I can read the same poem and come up with different meanings each time. What's the secret to your poetry?
alurista: One of the things that I do with my poetry is...I use words in such a manner that they lend themselves to the highest level of signification. In prose, for example, you want to use a word to mean only one thing to deliver precise meaning. In poetry, the way I write is the complete opposite. I want the reader to give herself or himself the opportunity to use the meaning that best suits the readers consciousness. So the poem is really unfinished until the reader reads it and interprets it.
NP: How's the Texas book tour going?
alurista: It's like a homecoming coming back to Tejas. I've never been on a tour like this. The audiences have been ranging in sizes from a very intimate 40 people to some places that have been standing room only. In Seguin, I was taken aback because there were over 200 people there. Juan Tejeda of Aztlan Libre Press (http://www.aztlanlibrepress.com) has really organized this tour well.
alurista read from his new book of poetry, Tunaluna, at the Latino cultural one-stop-shop Casa Ramirez in the Heights (241 W. 19th St.) at 7pm on October 15, 2010.
www.NuestraPalabra.org
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