Living in Nicaragua is a world apart from the typical North American experience. You wake to birds that do not just twitter, but screech and trill entire multi-stanza songs. There are processions with tubas blasting, dogs always barking somewhere, firecrackers going off for any excuse of a holiday. And of course, everywhere the vegetative excess of the tropics, where vines with huge blue flowers don’t just cover a trellis, but instead the entire side of a house.
In one sense, these poems are snapshots of a particular life in Nicaragua, perspectives on a person who thinks deeply—about everything. Pedro Xavier has been passionate about putting democracy into action in his county, dedicating many years to that end, with significant disappointments along the way. Pedro Xavier Solis grew up in Nicaragua, surrounded by family and books. His grandfather, Pablo Antonio Cuadra, was a poet and intellectual leader of his time, with books and art in every corner. Xavier has been passionate about putting democracy into action in his county, dedicating many years to that end, with significant disappointments along the way. He is also dedicated to the literary vitality of Nicaragua through his research, his career as an editor, his participation on boards, and of course, his writing.
Family Album (Adelaide) is a collection of his poems that offers a way of reflecting on the family album each of us creates through the daily actions of our lives.
Pedro Xavier Solís is a Nicaraguan poet and essayist. He serves on the boards of directors of the Nicaraguan Academy of Language and of the Granada International Poetry Festival. ◊
Leave a Reply