The Fredericton Chapter of the Ibero-American Academy of Poetry hosted a free public double book launch and poetry reading on Saturday, September 26, 2015, at the Fredericton Public Library’s Art Gallery Space, on Carleton St. in Fredericton, at 2 p.m.
Local Venezuelan-Canadian poet Neyda Long’s first collection, Un comienzo inconcluso [An Unfinished Beginning], was published in 2015 by Montreal’s Éditions Alondra. This collection of 99 poems includes artwork by the poet and poems on a variety of themes including immigration to Canada, love, motherhood, and nature. It is entirely written in Spanish, Long’s first language. The author’s illustrations add a charming touch to the edition.
A graduate of UNB where she teaches Spanish language classes, Long has been writing for years and has presented her materials at local and national events. Locally she has recited at activities organized by the Fredericton Chapter of the Ibero-American Academy of Poetry and the (now defunct) Fredericton Small Press Fair. At the national level, she presented at various meetings of Latino-Canadian Women Writers (in Fredericton, Montreal and Ottawa).
Long is currently in negotiations with a publishing house in Ontario to publish a bilingual Spanish-English children’s story that she herself illustrated.
A second collection of poems was launched the same day. It was the book Olvidaron sus nombres en San Telmo [Their Names Were Forgotten in San Telmo] by Spanish poet Milagros Salvador. Based in Madrid, Salvador is a frequent collaborator of the Ibero-American Academy of Poetry and has published eight books of poetry. Her newest collection is a series of found photos of women that the poet used to inspire her poems. This book was launched in absentia and the poems were read in Spanish by Nela Rio and in their English translation by Sophie Lavoie who also authored the translations.
The Fredericton Chapter of the Ibero-American Academy of Poetry, presided by Argentine-Canadian Fredericton-based author Nela Rio, is part of an international organization housed in Madrid, Spain, for the promotion of poetry and hosts quarterly poetry events in Spanish and English.