DistantNews
Support us
🇨🇺 Cuba /Culture & Society

Marilyn Bobes Honored at Havana Book Fair for Artistic Depth and Humanity

From Granma · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified New plan
  • Writer and editor Olga Marta Pérez praised Marilyn Bobes's short story "Alguien tiene que llorar" for its aesthetic values and humanity.
  • Bobes, a poet, narrator, and journalist, is being honored alongside researcher José Bell Lara at the 34th Havana International Book Fair.
  • Speakers highlighted Bobes's ability to create relatable characters, her contributions to visibility for Cuban women writers, and her unique poetic style.

The 34th Havana International Book Fair is honoring writer, poet, narrator, and journalist Marilyn Bobes, alongside researcher José Bell Lara. At a tribute colloquium, writer and editor Olga Marta Pérez lauded Bobes's short story "Alguien tiene que llorar," winner of the Casa de las Américas Prize in 1995, for its aesthetic qualities and profound humanity, noting its accessibility to readers of all ages.

It transcends for its aesthetic values and because it exudes humanity, all expressed with simplicity.

— Olga Marta PérezDescribing Marilyn Bobes's short story "Alguien tiene que llorar."

Pérez also commented on the evolution of Bobes's writing, describing it as drawing from a "great sack of resources." She specifically mentioned Bobes's novel "Fiebre de Invierno," another Casa de las Américas winner from 2005, as a significant work offering a broad panorama of an era that deserves re-publication.

Writer Laidi Fernández de Juan called the tribute a "just act," emphasizing Bobes's role in bringing visibility to Cuban women writers and literature addressing gender-based violence. Fernández de Juan praised Bobes as a "master in the delicate art of constructing female characters," highlighting her novel "Mujer perjura" and her prejudice-free writing style, which makes the question of autobiographical elements in her stories secondary.

Do we recognize ourselves in her stories? Is it a close voice? What challenges do we find in those stories?

— Olga Marta PérezPosing questions about the relatability of Bobes's narratives.

Poet Basilia Papastamatíu discussed Bobes's lyrical work, including her 1979 Uneac David Poetry Prize for "La aguja en el pajar." Papastamatíu noted Bobes belonged to a generation that broke away from "stagnant colloquialism," seeking to "break, transform, renew" poetry. Bobes achieved a "unique and very convincing effect as a poet" by harmonizing classical and avant-garde forms with an eclectic approach.

She has a great sack from which to draw her resources.

— Olga Marta PérezCommenting on the richness of Bobes's writing.

Accepting the honor, Bobes expressed gratitude, stating that many writers deserved such recognition and she was thankful to be chosen.

It is a just act that the Fair is dedicated to her.

— Laidi Fernández de JuanReferring to Marilyn Bobes being honored at the book fair.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Granma in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog