Last Saturday 1st. September,
2018, within the celebration 10 years of the National Beat Poetry Festival, the Dominican writer
and founder
of the Woman Scream International Poetry and Arts Festival, Jael Uribe was nominated "International Beat Poetry Laureate
2018-2019. The ceremony, in which Uribe was present, was held in the city of
New Hartford, Connecticut, USA at 2 pm, with the presence of national poets and
guests from abroad.
Jael
Uribe expressed gratitude as her voice was taken into account by the
"Beat Poets" of this new generation, compared to the silence that
characterized the presence of most women that belonged to the “Beat Poetry Movement”
in previous years. Later
on, she delighted the audience with her poetry-performance and declaimed poems
in English and Spanish. The events were held from August 31 to September 4, with the participation of
poets and musicians from different generations.
In
addition, there was an "open mic" section, space for all poets who
came to the festival to showcase their talent. The
festival's agenda took place in two different locations: Noelke Gallery in
Torrington, CT and The Licia & Mason Beekley Community Library in New
Hartford, CT.
Among
the works presented, there were magnificent artists of the "Spoken
Word", with poems in favor of equality and social justice, among other
topics of interest.
Ya está disponible Jael Uribe: Selección Especial de Poesía Ing/Esp, para el Festival 2018, Connecticut, USA.
Conmemorando su nominación como "Poeta Laureada (2018-2019)".
Este hermoso
libro de 66 páginas contiene 17 de sus poemas más representativos, entre
ellos poesía editada, especialmente elegidos para esta edición limitada
por nuestro proyecto editorial Rosado Fucsia.
It's official! New release of Jael Uribe's special eng/spa poetry selection book for the Poetry Festival 2018. Connecticut, USA. On her nomination as
"International Beat Poet Laureate 2018-2019".
This 66 pages beautiful designed chapbook contains 17 of her most
representative poems, among them inedited poetry, specially chosen for
this limited edition by our Rosado Fucsia editorial project.
Jael Uribe. Próximamente selección especial de poesía bilingüe,
ing/esp, para el Poetry Festival 2018, Connecticut, USA.
Conmemorando su nominación como "Poeta Laureada (2018-2019)".
----------------------------------
Coming
soon...Jael Uribe's special eng/spa poetry selection book for Poetry Festival 2018. Connecticut, USA. On her nomination as
"International Beat Poet Laureate 2018-2019".
Buenos días, con alegría. Pese a lo dislocado del mundo, pese a todas las tragedias, pese a lo difícil que se hace levantarse con una sonrisa cuando la vida te golpea de pronto y no encuentras refugio para aguarecerte. Siempre nos queda la esperanza y en ello, es donde debemos plantarnos, hasta que duela menos, hasta que nuestras hojas renazcan. Les dejo mi mensaje del día:
“Si crees ciegamente en lo que otros dicen de alguien, entonces eres ciego por igual. La reputación de las personas es asunto serio, criticar a alguien porque no cumple tus expectativas o porque esperas demasiado de ella/el, es el error en el que mucha gente incurre. Pensar que el otro no es humano: Un error que nos hace infelices, que nos aleja de amistades potenciales y de la indiscutible realidad. Todos libramos nuestras batallas, todos tenemos cosas que reparar. Si no te importa alguien solo aléjate, no lo culpes, no lo ataques o juzgues sin darte el tiempo de conocer su realidad. Es saludable de vez en cuando ponerse en el lugar de otro, así se aprende a ser amable, a esperar menos, juzgar menos y amar más”.
Los quiero!
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Good morning, with joy. Despite the dislocation of the world, despite all the tragedies, despite how difficult it is to get up with a smile when life suddenly hits you and you do not find shelter to protect yourself. We’ll always have hope left and there is, where we must stand, until it hurts less, until our leaves are reborn. I leave you my message for the day:
"If you blindly believe in what others say about someone, then you are blind just the same. People’s reputation is a serious matter, criticizing someone because he/she does not meet your expectations or because you expect too much of him/her is the huge mistake many people make. To think that the other is not human: An error that makes us unhappy, that distances us from potential friendships and undeniable reality. We all fight our battles, we all have things to repair. If you do not care about someone just walk away, do not blame him/her, do not attack or judge without giving others the chance to know about their realities. It is healthy from time to time to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, so you learn to be kind, wait for less, judge the least and love more. "
Love you all!
(Image: “if you want to know someone, don’t listen to what others have to say. Listen to what him or her says about others.”)
Jael Uribe Acceptance Speech for the Freedom of
Expression Award 2016, Oslo Norway
March 25th, 2017- Dear distinguished Committee and members of Norwegian
Author’s Union, special guests, ladies and
gentleman. Please accept my deepest gratitude for your kind invitation to this
beautiful country. I’m thrilled to be among you, and for being considered for
this priceless award!
When I first received an e-mail claiming that I’ve been
awarded a prize in Norway,
the only word that crossed my mind was SCAM. DELETE IT, DELETE IT, DELETE IT!
Sorry to say that, but being an online mouse for so many
years teaches you than on Internet, “If it sounds too good to be true…” it most
probably is!
I was on denial but still, something inside of me told me to
“play along with it” and I’m glad I did because here I am, a few months later.
I guess deep inside, I refused to believe recognition for my
so many years of hard, yet constant work would come from such a faraway place
as Norway
is. In fact, I refused to believe people would even feel the need of awarding
me for anything, at all!
This world is rough to those who stand by their dreams; for
those who are considered fighters don’t wait to receive compensation for giving
it all for the sake of humankind. They just do what they have to, and go on.
“Freedom of Expression” speaks to me about SILENCE. It tells
me about the fight of Susana Chavez’s mother, standing
outside, on the stairs of justice, waiting for an answer for her daughter’s
murder. It tells me and about the so many other women, marching every year on
March in other parts of this world, claiming for their rights in countries
where OBLIBION is the principal law.
------------
Sometimes it takes even more strength to remain silent, than
it does to speak. That is what’s happening to many women out there, who don’t
dare to raise their voices.
But I didn’t come here to build pedestal for me, so you
could understand how on earth I
became to be “rewarded” for raising my voice, so other women could have their
right to speak. I’m here to tell you how we’ve lived, and how hard it’s been
for all of us, in case you didn’t know. What it is to be in our shoes and
waking up every single day wanting to become somebody, to become noticed and
valued, and not to be silenced anymore.
Well now that I am being noticed, I’m taking my chance to
talk for them, hoping that through me, theirs voices are also heard beside
mine. I’m here for them as for my cause, for the women writing Landai in Pashto poetry hiding in Afghanistan,
hopping someone would hear them scream. For the Dominican young female writers
who tell me how much they admire me and wish to be like me when they grow
older.
But it is not easy to be me; it’s not easy to be a woman
anywhere and, it’s even harder to be a writer, in a hard of hearing world that
doesn’t care about your voice, at all. It takes a double effort to us women and
yes, a little bit of luck.
Back in 1996 I was diagnosed with many health problems,
Cancer, was among them. I thought hearing the news out of my doctor’s mouth was
the worst thing that I could ever face in my life but, I was wrong. Despair,
giving up, losing faith and joy, were the biggest battles I had yet to
overcome.
Even when my doctor’s “miracle hands” saved me and managed
to cast away some of my shadows, I was unable to prevail over nightmare. Only
half the battle to regain myself was won. I lost everything: My well paid job,
my friends, my money, stability, and ended up feeling useless, sore and
miserable.
After many months of lying in bed with horrible pain, unable
to walk and hunted by the memories that confined me to silence, I knew I had to
find a way to make myself relevant. I knew I had to hold on but, I was just too
tired.
Writing poetry was a therapy for me, for I find in it the
courage I needed to raise my voice again. Internet became my “best friend”, a
non-judgmental companion. I began posting my poems online; in a blog I used to
relief myself from anger and impotence. It helped me a lot when I started to
receive feedback from other women writers who where in similar or worst
situations than me and still, gave me the confidence I needed to believe in the
power of my words. They gave me an unexpected sense of value and self-esteem
boost. I thought the healing energy that came from their words was something
tremendous, something that needed to be taken beyond the ordinary.
I wanted them to have a space of their own to share poetry
and read each other’s work, so I decided to create a simple Facebook page for
them. I called it Women Poets
International with no pretensions than to be a place to unite women with
powerful poetic voices and, who were touched by distress just like me.
In less than a year, my little page became a movement with
over 400 contributors, but I still believed that we all had too much to say to
the world to be contained into a single page.
One night the idea of making an international poetry
festival came to me like a premonition. The Woman
Scream name suddenly jumped out of my hat into my hands and guys, I must
tell you -I trembled.It was more than
just a funny phrase. It was a command.
Woman Scream became a real project, an international poetry
festival, as a simultaneous chain of events coordinated by local women on their
cities. The idea was to give a stage to all the talented female poets who we
encountered, who didn’t have the resources or the opportunity to raise their
voices on a significant poetry event.
The first Woman Scream Festival was to start in March 2011
and to my surprise, women of 17 different counties and 44 cities volunteered.
Events where to be coordinated by women who mostly, had no experienced in
cultural affairs.
By January of the same year, the activist and poetess Susana
Chavez was killed in Mexico,
for speaking up for women’s rights in Juarez
city. Her death, made us aware of the many women out there being mistreated and
abused. Her example showed us the ugly
truth hidden behind those who are hunted merely for raising their voices.
Woman Scream found then a new direction, and became a cause,
an awareness platform to motivate poets all over the world to speak up for those
women whose voices are silenced by violence, low self-teem and oblivion. We got
united to achieve a better goal.
----------------
Sometimes, when violence speaks louder, silence is the
highest scream. Go tell that to Nadia Anjuman, killed for raising
her voice through poetry, tell it to the young girls kidnapped in Chibok, the dead ones, the few survivors
remained whose tongues had been chopped off byrape and men’s stupidity. Go tell the ones mutilated by acid, the women
buried under the desert sun like Desert
Flowers, stoned to death by ignorance and misogyny, go tell the women
buried as trash in Juarez city, the little girls who suffer genital mutilation
(FGM), to the 9 years old Leyla
Mafi, raped by her brothers and sold as prostitute by her own family, tell it
to Malala, to Liu Xia, to San San Nweh, tell women
in India, in Haiti, to the little girls abused who recently died in Guatemala
on March 8th, and tell all the unnamed women out there that their
SCREAM and their suffering has not been in vain, for they shall not be unheard.
There is no use to tell them silence is the best way to
regain their power, to tell them to behave. No matter if you tell them there is
no freedom; go tell them all the lies you wish to say! But I guarantee you the
scream of the ones alive will be louder, the ones who still remain and won’t be
covered by silence, will still rise for them.
Our Woman Scream has now been heard in over 70 countries; it
has celebrated over 700 worldwide events with the help of volunteer’s female
poets and artists and, even men. It has been translated in up to 10 languages,
our message can’t be untold. It has been heard!
-----
This Freedom of
Expression Award reminds me about all the tears and frustration I’ve been
through, about hunger, and long lonely nights being left behind, accused and
criticized by the ones who I thought, mattered the most. But it also speaks to
me about the loud power of resilience, and persistence, about never giving up.
No matter if I didn’t see where the road inside my voice would take me; I knew
I should never stop raising my voice.
I most say it is an honor for me to share this prize with
the previous awarded deserving writers, including the ones from Latin America. And it is even a greater honor to accept
it not only on behalf of the Woman Scream (Grito de Mujer) cause but also, on
behalf of my country the Dominican
Republic.
I share this joy with my worldwide team for adopting my idea
with so much love and courage and, making it a shared dream. Thanks to my
Dominican team Eduardo, Gennie, Angelica, Erly, and the so many others who had
been by my side when going through it all. I wouldn’t have done it without
them.
I dedicate this award to my mom and dad, for teaching me the
value of silence and, the quality of speaking up for myself and others, to my
brothers and sisters, for being the reason for my writing and constant fight,
and to all the Dominican friends struggling to get their work into the open out
of our land. I wish them to know it is possible; I am here as proof.
Finally, I thank God all mighty, in whose hands, all justice
prevails.
Good evening,
Jael Uribe
President of Women
Poets International Movement
Founder of Woman
Scream International Poetry and Arts Festival
