March 23, 2005
Queens, NY – Epsilon Kappa, St. John’s University’s Chapter of
Sigma Delta Pi, the National Spanish Honor Society, will
host an evening of poetry featuring Peruvian poet and novelist
Isaac Goldemberg on Wednesday, April 6, 2005 at 7 p.m. in Council
Hall, on the Queens Campus located at 8000 Utopia Parkway, Queens,
NY. Mr. Goldemberg will read from selections of his poetry and will
be interviewed by Dr. Marie-Lise Gazarian, the Moderator of the
Chapter. The event, free and open to the public, is part of the
Poetry Month celebration and the Induction Ceremony of the Honor
Society, and will be conducted in Spanish.
Isaac Goldemberg, the renowned Peruvian poet, playwright and
novelist, is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Hostos
Community College and Director of the Latin American Writers
Institute and Editor of the literary journal Hostos
Review. His novel The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo
Lerner, now in its sixth English edition, was described in
“The New York Times Book Review” as “a moving exploration of the
human condition” and was selected as one of the 100 greatest Jewish
books of the last 150 years. The author of three novels, 11 books
of poetry and several anthologies, most recently, Memoria
(2005), Los Cementerios Reales (2004), Golpe de
gracia (2003) and Self-Portraits and Masks (2002) and
his works have been translated into many languages. In 1998, the
University of Puerto Rico Press published The Grand Book of
Jewish Latin America, his 1,250-page anthology of Jewish Latin
American writings. He is also the recipient of the Nathaniel Judah
Jacobson Award (1996), the Peruvian National Short Story Award
(2000), the P.E.N. Club of Peru Poetry Award (2001), and the
Instituto Luis Alberto Sánchez Essay Award (2003).
At the event, students and alumni will read selections from
their own poetry, published in the eighth issue of the literary
journal Entre rascacielos, the Chapter’s literary journal.
Under the direction of Dr. Marie-Lise Gazarian, editor in chief and
Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Spanish, and its coeditor,
Mónica Sánchez, former President of the Chapter, has brought
together some of the most outstanding voices from the St. John’s
University and the Hispanic community at large, both nationally and
internationally. The Chapter was recently awarded the Order of
Octavio Paz for its commitment to Hispanic culture.
For more information, please contact Dr. Marie-Lise Gazarian at
(718) 990-5209 or (718) 380-1905.