Ateneo de Madrid
After my arrival in Madrid, Spain, last week, I was invited to a celebration of the life and work of one of the most beloved poets of the last decade. His name is Angel Luis Vigaray and the homage took place at the Ateneo de Madrid, in the ancient building that has become a gathering place for recognized poets. It is a freezing winter, but the homage to Angel Luis Vigaray was anything but cold. A large group of enthusiastic poets gathered to pay homage and to celebrate his life and work.
Angel Luis Vigaray (1951-2009), poet, exquisite designer of literary journals such as Malvís and Versión Celeste, was also the director of the prestigious collection Signos, published by Huerga y Fierropublisher house. In a text of auto presentation (1989), he wrote, “I write poems dictated by some obscure muse. My poems, always in the process of being polished but never increasing, were part of my book, Grama. The dream of my life is to know what do I live for.”
A fragment from Grama:
You escaped. Where to.
Through the fear of your mouth,
With silence in your arms,
Toward the beach
Where I found you.
Cover of Grama
The poet Angel Guinda says that Vigaray´s book of poetry, Grama (1995), is a “homage to love in the midst of pain, taken with stoic rigor, without regrets.” For the director of El Alambique, José Cereijo, this unique book is not about games but a clear search for“authenticity.” Angel Rodriguez Abad wrote that Vigaray, “with his beautiful collection of perfect dreams, added real beauty to a prosaic world.” He ended the homage with a quote from Vigaray. In reference to the many poets Vigaray helped to publish, Angel Rodriguez Abad said that “they are bright suns irradiating beauty and eternal poetry toward the universe.”
A meditation for the last days of 2011: What do you live for? Do you live your life in an authentic way? What are the themes that come up in your writing and in your life? Is your creative and spiritual work contributing to a better world, a world of beauty and peace? Enjoy a few minutes of meditation and creative peace.
Juan