Combining Spanish and English, the Bilingual Poetry Reading event allowed attendees to listen and discuss poetry originally written in Spanish to immerse themselves in the language.
On Friday, April 18, the University of Kentucky hosted the 78th annual Kentucky Foreign Language Conference in Patterson Hall, featuring poetry recitations from invited authors.
Mauricio Espinoza, who recited a variety of Spanish poems written by Spanish-speaking poets from Ohio, said he hoped attendees gained an appreciation for the role Spanish plays in the United States.
“Spanish continues to grow as a language that is spoken in everyday situations and in the U.S.,” Espinoza said. “It’s a benefit for the community as well, where they might hear ‘Oh, wow, there’s literature in my native language.’”
Espinoza said although he writes almost all of his poetry in Spanish, his native language, he ends up translating it all into English.
According to Espinoza, the event benefited all Spanish speakers and provided them with an opportunity to listen, and practice their Spanish, while also being introduced to new texts and writers.
“It (Spanish) is a language that is being written, it is being used to write literature by writers in the U.S.,” Espinoza said. “Anybody who’s interested in literature can find books like this.”
The event showed attendees how Spanish “permeates all aspects of life” in the United States and exposes them to how Spanish is represented in the nation’s culture, Espinoza said.
According to Espinoza, the event showed how important and powerful the ability to translate literary works, such as poetry or books, can be.
Translating a work can allow an author to spread their work anywhere and everywhere across the world, Espinoza said, saying he was amazed by how fellow author, Francisco Muñoz Soler, has also been able to translate his work from Spanish to a variety of other languages.
“All of a sudden, his (Soler) work is out there all over the world in about 20 languages,” Espinoza said. “It just takes on its own life in different cultures, languages, traditions.”
University of Kentucky Spanish professor and event speaker, Robert Myak, said the translation poetry is a difficult and profound art.
Myak said he hoped since the event presented both the Spanish and English versions of each poem, it would open up to a wider public.
“The oral experience of poetry is incredibly rich, and listening to poetry in community is a uniquely transformative experience,” Myak said.
Myak said he hoped attendees left with a greater understanding of Spanish poetry.
“I hope they were able to leave with a few verses in their minds that they can keep on considering as the rest of the day and weekend goes on,” Myak said.
