A Tribute to Virgil Saurez, Leading Cuban American Writer Published In Fourteen Hills Vol. 7.2

I was recently flipping through the pages of a back issue of Fourteen Hills. And what did I find? The work of Virgil Suarez, a poet whose work I have admired for many years. Being a writer of color
myself, I was already blown away at what emerging writers of color were being printed in Fourteen Hills. But seeing the renowned Cuban-American writer had me smiling even more. Virgil Suarez is one of the leading poets in the Cuban American community. He has been nominated for five Pushcart prizes, won the Latino Literature Hall of Fame Poetry Prize, has held a fellowship with the National Endowment for the Arts, and has been published in Best American Poetry.

In Suarez's piece Dona Inez’s Abecedarion Del Amor, he entertains readers with his musical voice.

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Absence is her daily companion
by the porch swing, white walls

clandestine doves on the eaves
diurnal in their love making

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The music in his verse is something reminiscent of Nicholas Guillen, except Virgil Suarez already comes to us in English. His simple verses and practiced cadence act like musical notes tuned by the strings of his heart and mind. You can read this piece for yourself in the archives on 14hills.net, volume 7.2, and you can purchase the issue for only $5.00 including s&h direct from us. It's also available at Small Press Distribution. I hope you enjoy his work as much as I did when I discovered him in Fourteen Hills.

For more info on Suarez, visit poets.org.

-Robert, Fourteen Hills staff