Saturday, August 20, 2011

Poetry in Action

Javier Sicilia, Mexican poet, stopped writing after his son and six of his friends were tortured and assassinated by a drug cartel.  In May, he made a public declaration, "Estamos Hasta la Madre!" asking for people to resist so that the violence could be stopped.



In June, he organized a tour for peace (June 4-11), ranging from Cuernavaca to Ciudad Juarez.  This resulted in a national dialogue for peace (June 23, 2011).




Links

Frédéric Saliba, "Les Indignés du Mexique," Le Monde Magazine (June 25, 2011), pp.26-31.
Jo Tuckman, "Mexican peace caravan led by poet Javier Sicilia nears its final stop," Guardian (June 9, 2011).
Olivia Stransky, "Letter from Poet Javier Sicilia to Mexican Government and Cartels," Sampsonain Way (May 17, 2011).
Randal C. Archibold, "Violence Suffocated a Father's Poetry, but Not His Voice," New York Times (May 13, 2011).
Harriet Staff, "Poet Javier Sicilia leads 150,000 in march against Mexican drug violence," Poetry Foundation/Harriet Blog (May 9, 2011).
Jason Beaubien, "After Son's Death, Poet Fights Mexican Drug Violence," NPR (May 6, 2011).
Gilles Biassette, "Marche contre la violence au Mexique," La Croix (May 5, 2011).
Julian Miglierini, "Mexico poet Javier Scilia leads anger at drug violence," BBC Mobile (April 22, 2011).
Ioan Grillo, "Should Mexico Call for A Cease-Fire with Drug Cartels," Time (April 7, 2011).
"Javier Sicilia's Open Letter to Mexico's Politicians and Criminals," Narco News Bulletin (April 4, 2011).


Interview with Javier Sicilia, by Ricardo Venegas, in Agulha, Revista de Cultura (October 2003).

To follow these actions via Twitter:  @mxhastalamadre  and on Facebook:  Todos somas Juan Francisco Sicilia.