Poetry is like a song, like a
psalm, like a prayer. Poetry is different things to many people, and April
being Poetry Month,
The Latina Book Club is
celebrating by featuring Latino poets all week long.
We welcome A.B. Lugo, poet and playwright, who makes a
very personal and emotional debut with
Spanish
Coffee: Black, No Sugar from La Casita Grande.
 |
| La Casita Grande, May 2017 |
SUMMARY: In 2015, A.B.
Lugo, award winning actor and playwright, suffered through the deaths of his
parents only months apart. To cope with his grief, he dedicated himself to
writing a poem for each week of 2016. Little did he know he would be
chronicling an historic year, one of social strife and tragedy that would
culminate in the election of a man whose movement brings new awareness and fear
to A.B. as an Afro-Puerto Rican. Spanish
Coffee: Black, No Sugar, much like its title, is a bitter experience, as
life can be, but also one that gives us the energy and power to make it through
each day. More worn, for sure, but also stronger, and hopefully, wiser. A
collection of poems influenced by history and inspired by the depths of the
soul, Spanish Coffee: Black, No Sugar
is as unforgettable as the year it chronicles. This book will be published in May 2017 by La Casita Grande.
"You could be found
in the bitterness of
Spanish coffee
black, no sugar
and in the anger
of sunburned skin
and chapped lips
in the bitterness of
Spanish coffee
black, no sugar
and in the anger
of sunburned skin
and chapped lips
"I see you in the
ferocity
of an ambulance siren
trying to cut through
rush hour traffic
and in the sense of wonder
of a toddler's eyes
when discovering something
for the first time"
of an ambulance siren
trying to cut through
rush hour traffic
and in the sense of wonder
of a toddler's eyes
when discovering something
for the first time"
—an excerpt from
"As You Like It"
From the poetry collection
SPANISH COFFEE/BLACK, NO SUGAR
From the poetry collection
SPANISH COFFEE/BLACK, NO SUGAR
"Él y ella
lucharon
e hicieron el amor
Se gritaron
y burlaron con el otro
Lágrimas con risas
pasando décadas juntos
Según ellos
un matrimonio
no fue un capricho
sino una condena perpetua
lucharon
e hicieron el amor
Se gritaron
y burlaron con el otro
Lágrimas con risas
pasando décadas juntos
Según ellos
un matrimonio
no fue un capricho
sino una condena perpetua
"Así sería el amor
verdadero
Desaliñado
imperfecto
y perpetuo"
Desaliñado
imperfecto
y perpetuo"
—un excerpto de
"Amor perpetuo" de la colección de poesía
SPANISH COFFEE/BLACK, NO SUGAR
SPANISH COFFEE/BLACK, NO SUGAR
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READ LATINO POETRY!