Poetry reading and Juana Goergen Poetry Award

Join us to listen to the poetry of the honored poets of the Spanish-language International Poetry Festival, Poesía en Abril 2025, and for the award ceremony of the Premio de Poesía Juana Goergen 2025.

The jury, composed of Carlos Villacorta Gonzáles, Alejandro Cortés, and Ana Varela Tafur, with Silvia Goldman coordinating as secretary, unanimously selected the poem “Es tristemente bello escribir un poema donde morir” (It is sadly beautiful to write a poem where to die), submitted under the pseudonym El ahorcado de Sylvia. Upon opening the envelope, it was revealed to be the pseudonym of José Ernesto Delgado Hernández.

The jury also awarded an honorable mention to the poem “Charrasca” submitted by Aldama, which, upon opening the envelope, was revealed to be the pseudonym of Brian Durán Fuentes.

Regarding the winning poem, the jury highlighted the beauty and depth of the images that construct “A poem that is not a contraption of shadows and bohemia; a poem that is a portal for resurrection.” The poem also contains an internal rhythm where the poet “exhales and breathes” a pain that sounds like when one carries “the coins of defeat in their pockets,” and the reader cannot remain immune to this rhythm-pain.

Likewise, the jury selected, as the sole finalist, the poem “Charrasca” by Aldama, whose author is Brian Durán Fuentes. From this poem, the jury emphasized how it creates a kaleidoscope where verses—images—collide: “evangelical street vendors with loudspeakers, narrators of the red star for the disappeared, dancers dressed in symbols of rain, war, flowers, and song”; and from this collision, the rhythmic sound of a charrasca is born.

The jury also thanks all the participants of this contest for sharing their unpublished works and celebrates the growth of Spanish-language poetic voices within the United States.

At the end of the reading, a reception will be served. The event will close with the music of Patricia Ortega and Norberto Guerra.