THE REPUBLIC OF POETRY; Poems

NY: Norton, 2008. First paperback edn. 8vo, pp.63. Printed wraps. Boldly inscribed to poet William Jay Smith on the title page: For Bill | A Poet | in the spirit | of Lorca | with admiration | Martin Espada | February 21, | 2003 | Cummington, | MA" This work was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. From Wikipedia: "Martín Espada (born 1957) is a Latino poet, and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches poetry. Puerto Rico has frequently been featured as a theme in his poems ... Espada was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was introduced (truncated) to political activism at an early age by his father, a leader in the Puerto Rican community and the civil rights movement. Espada received a B.A. in history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a J.D. from Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts). For many years, he worked as a tenant lawyer and a supervisor of a legal services program. In 1982, Espada published his first book of political poems, The Immigrant Iceboy's Bolero, featuring photography by his father. This was followed by Trumpets from the Islands of their Eviction (1987) and Rebellion is the Circle of a Lover's Hands.In 2001, he was named the first Poet Laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts (Inventory #: 58314)