Category Archives: Literature and Poetry

‘Gold Is for Thieves and Swindlers’ Excerpt from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

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By B. Traven, Hill and Wang, New York, 1967 | Scribd | Wikipedia | Introduction by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is regarded as B. Traven’s masterpiece, and it is indeed a superb novel; but this book, written in 1935, is merely the best-known work by a master storyteller who lived and wrote for another 34 years. Traven’s body of work celebrates wildness and chronicles the loss of individual freedom in his lifetime.

The Man Who Planted Trees

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By Frederic Back, You Tube | Based on Jean Giono’s short story “The Man Who Planted Trees.” Director Frédéric Back’s marvellous interpretation of Giono’s allegory won an Oscar for short animation. The story is a tribute to hard work and patience. (English | French | Portuguese | Spanish, 30 min.)

Saramago’s ‘Lost and Found in Time’ 2nd Novel Claraboya Published

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By Granma | Elespectador | NY Times | Thomas Christopher’s blog | You Tube| Haiti Chery. Jose Saramago wrote Claraboya in the 1950′s but received no word until 40 years later from the publisher to whom it was sent. The dictatorial regime of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal is presumed to have censored the novel, and in the end Saramago decided that it should be published posthumously. It has just appeared in Portuguese and Spanish — the latter version being from Pinal del Rio, Saramago’s widow and translator. (English | Spanish)

Frederico Garcia Lorca: ‘On Lullabies’

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By Frederico Garcia Lorca | Translation by A. S. Kline | Paintings by Gabriel Alix | Editorial comment by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Frederico Garcia Lorca describes the lullabies of Spain in their cultural contexts and with a singular respect for children’s appreciation of abstraction. One lullaby from the region of Burgos is reminiscent of Haiti’s “Dodo Titit.”

Politics and Conscience: An Essay By Vaclav Havel

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By Vaclav Havel, in: The Natural World as Political Problem – Essays on Modern Man (Prague: Edice Expedice, Vol. 188, Feb 1984) | translated by Erazim Kohák and Roger Scruton (Salisbury Rev, No. 2, Jan 1985). “If a medieval man were to see something like that [huge somestack] suddenly on the horizon — say, while out hunting — he would probably think it the work of the Devil and would fall on his knees and pray that he and his kin be saved.” – Vaclav Havel: Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and statesman.

Former President Aristide’s New Book: Philosophical Reflections for Mental Decolonization

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By Staff, AHP | Translation by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Just out in Haitian bookstores: a new book by former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide titled “Pwezi filosofik pou dekolonizasyon mantal” (Publisher: Henri Deschamps, 2012). It is the Creole version of “Philosophical Reflections for Mental Decolonization” (Publisher: Paradigm Press, 2011). Dr. Aristide shows how the 300-year Haitian journey to freedom has been guided by the African philosophy of Ubuntu: an ethical concept that values connectedness, respect, justice, dignity, freedom, and love. He believes this philosophy gave the strength to resist slavery and can continue to motivate resistance.

A Poem By Michael Leunig: Spring Diary of a Small, Brown Bird

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By Michael Leunig, Spring Diary of a Small, Brown Bird | Introduction by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. The poem below is a favorite of mine and the only one I’ve found so far that describes falling in love entirely from the point of view of an animal. From a collection by Leunig titled: Short Notes from the Long History of Happiness (Penguin Books Australia, Ltd, 1996).

Poem From My Mother

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By Oswald Durand(?): “Le baiser d’une mère” | Introduction by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Before I could speak or even breathe, my mother, with a huge grin, read this poem to me. I copy it here from a version she wrote from memory. Based on the style, some of the phrases, and her fondness for Oswald Durand, I think it is his. (French, with French | English introduction)

Pete Seeger: One Blue Sky | My Rainbow Race

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By Pete Seeger, YouTube (courtesy of dcgforrizle) | Haiti Chery (introduction). Pete Seeger’s song “One Blue Sky,” (“My Rainbow Race”) is a message of love for the planet and each other that has become an anthem for those campaigning for climate action and other important issues.

Utopia, Limited

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By Gilbert & Sullivan, Sung by Michael Rayner | You Tube (courtesy of thesafekind) | Wikipedia | Introduction by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. “King: And do I understand you that Great Britain upon this joint stock principle is governed? Goldbury: We haven’t come to that exactly, but we’re tending rapidly in that direction. The date’s not distant.” – W. S. Gilbert, in Utopia, Limited: a prescient operetta from 1893 that warned of the dangers of corporatism.

Frederico Garcia Lorca, Three Poems: Ditty of First Desire, Debussy, Fare Well

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By Frederico Garcia Lorca, Casa Poema, Kempis, Everything2 | Wikipedia | Commentary by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery. Frederico García Lorca, one of the greatest poets and playwrights in the Spanish language, became Franco’s most famous victim at the start of the Spanish Civil War. García Lorca’ remains might be buried in one of the unmarked graves that Judge Baltasar Garzon ordered exhumed as part of his probe into Spain’s fascist era. Judge Garzon is currently being persecuted by a judiciary linked to Spain’s new majority conservative Partido Popular (PP). (English | Spanish)