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Book synopsis

How does one condense years of fond warm memories into a few pages? Upon joining the Canada Cuba Literary Alliance - the CCLA - I did not realize that a world of exciting people, places and things would enter my life. Who could have predicted the meeting of wonderful Cuban CCLA friends such as Wency Rosales and Manuel Velazquez Leon and their gracious families who invited us into their homes? Under the guidance of founder Richard Grove, trips to Cuba were arranged, where members presented readings at the University of Havana; the Canadian Embassy; the International Book Fair; the Havana Library; University of Holguin; and UNEAC - Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba. Some mornings were devoted to workshops presented by Richard and Kim Grove along with our writer-in-residence John B. Lee. It was during the initial trip that I adapted to 'Cuba Time'. Patience was the attitude one adopted. Things would happen eventually. This outlook prompted the poem 'Maybe'. We stayed at the Tropicoco Motel twice. It was old but perfect. It was across from the beach and offered a twice-daily bus shuttle into Havana where one could shop, sight-see, or attend the scheduled readings. In Havana the Malecón or Avenida de Maceo is the main meeting place. This broad esplanade with its seawall stretches for 8 km along the mouth of Havana Harbor. Guarding the entrance is the Fort Castillo de la Real Fuerza where we presented readings during the International Book Fair. From the Malecon, trips to the art gallery, the library, UNEAC headquarters, and places in and around the capital building were arranged. The nearby flea market was an interesting experience. Our Cuban CCLA VP - Manuel Velazquez Leon - arranged for a reading at the English Department at the University of Havana. The sparse conditions (with no air conditioning) under which studies are conducted was testament to the students' zeal for knowledge. All the restaurants seemed to serve chicken legs. It was an unspoken-but-understood rule that 'white meat' was for the aristocracy and the elite resorts. This fact prompted the poem 'Cuban Chickens'. Often a small band entertained the diners and offered its locally produced records. A visitor's first excursion into a Cuban public washroom is quite an adventure. One quickly learned to carry small change and a self-sustaining supply of toilet paper. One particularly memorable place to which Wency - our intrepid Cuban CCLA member and guide - took us was to an area that had a series of waterfalls where one could swim. The adjoining restaurant served a dish of chicken, rice and beans. We were instructed to keep the bones aside, but just toss and any uneaten rice and beans into the foliage. It was at that point that one noticed the numerous chickens in the bushes. What a great cleanup crew! In Gibara we visited a local poet and his family. Like most Cuban buildings the exterior was nondescript, but the interior was beautifully finished. We had a lunch and poetry session under a shaded courtyard at the back. It was while we were in Santiago de Cuba that I had the privilege to join with our group to do a reading the tomb of the esteemed Cuban poet Jose Marti. In Holguin, one can oversee the whole city from the top of Loma de la Cruz. A local artist has his studio in the hollow under the huge crucifix. Several of his creations grace our walls. Pleasant memories surface when one flicks through photographs of the Baconao Dinosaur Park, a recreated old Indian village with its adjoining carefully preserv

Book details

Book category Books in English Literature & literary studies Poetry

• Full title: Where Warm Hearts Blend
• Author: Graham Ducker
• Language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 76
• EAN: 9781927725153
• ISBN: 9781927725153
• ID: 09171435
• Publisher: Hidden Brook Press
• Weight: 109 g
• Dimensions: 216 × 140 × 5 mm
• Date of publishing: 01. December 2014

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