Latino Poetry - The Places We Call Home

A collaboration of New Hampshire Humanities, UNH, and the NH Center for the Book.

The Center for the Book,  in collaboration with New Hampshire Humanities and UNH, and thanks to a grant from the Library of America invites you to join us in a celebration of Latino Poetry here in the Granite state. Our celebration will center around Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, edited by Rigoberto González, 2024.


Poetry Reading Featuring Diannely Antigua
       November 12, Durham, NH

Nossrat Yassini Poet in Residence, Diannely Antigua will read her poem, "Golden Shovel with Solstice" which is included in the Latino Poetry anthology and share some of her other work with us as well. We will also read poems from the anthology focusing on the themes of Voice and Resistence, Family and Community, and Language. Our readers will include Daniel Chávez Landeros and Lucía Montás (both from UNH) and Mary Russell (Center for the Book). This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Tuesday November 12, 2024, 5-7pm at Durham Public Library.


Variations on a Theme: Local Conversations about Latino Poetry

Between November 2024 and April 2025 public libraries around the state will be hosting conversations about the poems in Latino Poetry: the Library of America Anthology. Each conversation will focus on a particular theme with different themes hosted in different locations. Sets of Latino Poetry will be loaned to each library for use in their program thanks to the support of New Hampshire Humanities and Gibson's Bookstore.

Dates, locations, and specific themes will be announced in early November 2024.


For nearly five centuries, the rich tapestry of Latino poetry has been woven from a wealth of languages and cultures. With distinctive rhythms, lyricism, and candor, and nuanced understandings of place, history, and origin, Latino poets have brought dazzling insight to what it means to make a home in America.

Recognition of the beauty and power of this tradition has grown in recent years, with Latino poets receiving two national and twelve state Poet Laureateships, two Pulitzer Prizes, and three National Book Awards. At the same time, the perennial questions confronted by Latino poets—of exile and belonging, language and identity, struggle and solidarity, and labor and landscape—have become ever more urgent.

What does Latino poetry reveal about America? How might it help us imagine a more just, joyful, and capacious future? Places We Call Home seeks to foster nationwide conversation on this vital literature through a groundbreaking new anthology edited by Rigoberto González, events around the country, an online media archive, and a wealth of library resources meant to spur in-depth reflection and discussion on key figures and themes.

Funded with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Emerson Collective, Places We Call Home is directed by Library of America and presented in partnership with the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures; the Academy of American Poets; Cave Canem; Poetry Society of America; and the National Book Foundation, among others.

Desde hace cinco siglos, una gran variedad de lenguas y culturas se vienen entretejiendo para formar ese colorido tapiz que es la poesía latina en Estados Unidos. Los poetas latinos nos han permitido ver a Estados Unidos como un hogar a través de originales ritmos, gran lirismo y candor; nos han brindado sugerentes visiones de lo que llamamos “lugar,”  “historia” y “origen.”

En años recientes, la poesía latina viene adquiriendo el reconocimiento que se merece por su belleza y su añeja tradición. Evidencia de ello es el hecho de que varios poetas latinos han sido merecedores de dos galardones a nivel nacional y doce a nivel estatal, dos premios Pulitzer y tres Premios Nacionales del Libro. Asimismo, las preguntas existenciales y los retos sociales que enfrentan estos poetas— el exilio y la pertenencia, el lenguaje y la identidad, la lucha y la solidaridad, la labor y la tierra—se vuelven cada vez más urgentes.

¿Qué nos revela la poesía latina sobre los Estados Unidos ? ¿De qué manera nos ayuda a imaginar un futuro más justo, jubiloso, y esperanzador ? Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home (Lugares que llamamos hogar) busca fomentar una conversación de impacto nacional sobre la poesía latina a través de una nueva antología sin precedentes, eventos por todo el país, un archivo multimedia,  y una gran cantidad de recursos bibliotecarios destinados a inspirar discusiones e interpretaciones de fondo sobre figuras y temas imprescindibles.

Places We Call Home es un proyecto financiado por el Fondo Nacional para las Humanidades y Emerson Collective, dirigido por Library of America. Es presentado en colaboración con the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures; the Academy of American Poets; Cave Canem; Poetry Society of America; y the National Book Foundation entre otras organizaciones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home is a major public humanities initiative, planned for 2024–25, that celebrates and explores the multifaceted legacy of Latino poetry. It is directed by Library of America and funded with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Lugares que llamamos hogar es una gran iniciativa pública en el campo de las humanidades, que se proyecta para el 2024 – 2025. Es dirigida por Library of América con el generoso apoyo del Fondo Nacional para las Humanidades.