Poet and essayist Nancy Morejon
Havana, August 7 (RHC)-- Poet and essayist Nancy Morejon reaches her 79th birthday today with a life anchored to Cuba and her fertile work, and the world of literature dresses up to pay tribute to her.
Originally from Havana, the winner of the National Prize for Literature (2001) is one of the most relevant voices of current Cuban poetry and owner of an invaluable prestige, devoted to the study of the work of the National Poet Nicolás Guillén and the literatures of the Caribbean.
The literary critic and translator also offers compositions in which she enriches the so-called black poetry, while her verses examine the daily life of the city where she was born and the revolutionary processes of her country.
From her position she contributes notably to writing in the Antillean nation and holds important literary positions, such as director of the Union magazine, member of number of the Cuban Academy of Language and the Academy of Sciences.
The intellectual served as advisor to the cultural institution Casa de las Americas and as president of the Association of Writers of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, concluded the VII Congress of this entity in April 2008.
Her poetic work includes numerous titles such as Where the Island Sleeps Like Wing (bilingual anthology, 1985), Piedra pulida (1986), Botella al mar (anthology, 1997), Richard trajo su flauta y otros poemas (2000), the latter selected and prefaced by Mario Benedetti for the Visor publishing house in Madrid.
Other outstanding works include Cuerda veloz (2002), published by Letras Cubanas Publishing House, Looking Witthin / Mirar adentro (2003), from Wayne State University, Michigan, as well as Antología poética (1962-2000) with selection and prologue by Gerardo Fulleda León, published by Monteávila Publishing House, Caracas (2006).
Throughout his career, he has received innumerable awards and decorations, national and foreign, among which are the Insignias de Oficial de la Orden al Mérito de la República de Francia, the Réplica del Machete de Máximo Gómez and the Alejo Carpentier Medal.
These awards are complemented by the Critics' Prize for her books Nation and Mestizaje in Nicolás Guillén (1982), Piedra pulida (1986), Elogio y paisaje (1997) and La Quinta de los Molinos (2000).
Nancy Morejon's work has been translated into English, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Polish and Dutch, in addition to being known and appreciated in the United States.
Months ago the narrator was at the center of the debate in her homeland and abroad due to the decision to withdraw her status as honorary president of the Paris Poetry Market.
Faced with such an event, the poet told Prensa Latina that she considers herself a creature of the Cuban Revolution, "because that process led by Fidel Castro opened a wide space for peasants and workers". (Source:PL)
