Renowned Cuban Poet Resigns from Cuba’s Artists & Writers Association

Renowned Cuban Poet Resigns from Cuba's Artists & Writers Association
July 4, 2014
By Cafe Fuerte

HAVANA TIMES — Poet Rafael Alcides Perez, one of the most prestigious of
contemporary Cuban intellectuals, publicly announced he has resigned
from the Association of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) in protest
against the government restrictions he is being subjected to.

"In view of the fact that my books aren't allowed into Cuba – neither by
customs nor the mail -, which amounts to prohibiting my work as a
writer, I hereby resign from UNEAC," Alcides wrote in a letter sent to
Miguel Barnet, president of the institution, parliamentary deputy and
member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

The 81-year-old writer also sent Barnet the commemorative medal given
him on UNEAC's 50th anniversary in 2011, saying his decision was "final."

In recent years, the poet had assumed postures that are openly critical
of the country's situation and had distanced himself from the official
discourse, assuming a commitment to the cause of human rights and civil
liberties. He has worked with the Estado de Sats project, which gathers
activists of the Cuban opposition.

A Renowned Figure

A prominent public figure of Cuba's "50s generation," Rafael Alcides is
considered one of the most widely recognized and important of Cuban and
Latin American poets alive today.

He is the author of numerous books, including the well-known Himnos de
montaña ("Mountain Hymns, 1961), Gitana ("Gypsy Woman", 1962), La pata
de palo ("The Wooden Leg", 1967) and Agradecido como un perro ("As
Grateful as a Dog", 1983), a classic of conversational poetry that
earned him Cuba's Premio de la Critica ("Critics' Award") that year.

He is also the author of Nadie ("No-one", 1993), Noche en el recuerdo
("A Night to Remember", 1989), and Y se mueren, y vuelven, y se mueren
("They Die and Come Back and Die Again", 1989). His works are part of
numerous poetic anthologies published in Cuba and Latin America.

In 1965, he obtained an honorary mention in the Casa de las Americas
writing contest for his novel Contracastro ("Counter-Castro").

Born in 1933 in the town of Barrancas, Bayamo, in what is today the
province of Granma, he completed his senior secondary studies at
Holguin's Secondary Institute and at Havana's Escuelas Pias ("Pious
Schools"). He studied industrial chemistry at Havana's Arts and
Vocational School (1950) and then travelled in Mexico and the United States.

Poetry in Context

Alcides was a highly renowned radio producer, director and writer. He
hosted the radio program En su lugar la poesia ("Poetry in Context"),
where young Cuban artists were exposed to the public.

In 2011, he received Spain's Bodegas Olarra – Café Breton Literary
Award. His most recent book, Un cuento de hadas que termina mal ("A
Fairy Tale Without a Happy Ending"), was published this year in Logroño,
Spain.

Below is the entire text of his letter of resignation from UNEAC.

Havana, June 30, 2014

Miguel Barnet, Poet

President of the Association of Cuban Artists and Writers, Havana

Dear Friend,

In view of the fact that my books are not allowed into Cuba – neither by
customs nor the mail-, which amounts to prohibiting my work as a writer,
I hereby resign from UNEAC.

In this envelope, you will also find the commemorative 50th anniversary
medal given me as a founding member of UNEAC. What remains of that big
old house [the UNEAC headquarters] which I once made my own are my
memories, and these, being personal, depart with me. Among these
memories are those of the good friends I made among the members of the
Association back then, treasures of my youth that are all that remain of
that great, failed dream, people I love though they do not think the way
I do, and who love me also, even if they dare not visit me.

That is all, Miguel. Anticipating different interpretations of my
resignation that could omit the text of this resignation, which is
final, I have taken the liberty of making it public.

Rafael Alcides

Source: Renowned Cuban Poet Resigns from Cuba's Artists & Writers
Association - Havana Times.org - http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=104661