Talking With Francisco Aragón About After Rubén

At The Rumpus, Ruben Reyes Jr. talks to Francisco Aragón about his newest book, After Rubén (Red Hen Press), which contains "original poems, translations, and reimaginings of work by the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío, and an essay, all within the confines of one project." From their conversation:

Rumpus: One of my favorite pieces in the book is “January 21, 2013,” a poem that emulates what Rubén Darío might have posthumously written to Sergio Ramírez, a Nicaraguan novelist who denounced a series of uncovered letters from Darío as fakes for revealing Darío’s relationship with a man. The poem blends contemporary politics, history, and sheer imagination as a way of exploring Darío’s oft-overlooked sexuality. How did the idea for this piece originate?

Aragón: In the fall of 2012, I received an intriguing invitation from another Bay Area poet, Gerald Fleming, on behalf of a journal called Forward to Velma, which he founded. The parameters were as follows: there would only be one issue of the journal, the only recipients of the journal would be the poets he invited to submit, and our submission had to be an epistolary poem. Shortly afterwards, Arizona State University issued a press release announcing the acquisition of a private Rubén Darío archive, one which included nine letters from Darío to Mexican poet Amado Nervo—letters that confirmed an intimate relationship between them. This, coupled with the invitation, gave me the initial idea for “January 21, 2013.” When Sergio Ramírez then published his piece which denounced the letters as false, my idea for the poem took fuller shape: the poem would be in the voice of Darío—from the grave—and addressed to the living Ramírez.

Read on at The Rumpus.