Julia de Burgos - Meet Puerto Rico's Most Famous Poet! - a podcast by Christy and Garry Shriver

Meet Puerto Rico's most famous poet - Julia de Burgos!

 

Julia de Burgos- Script

HI, I’m Christy Shriver and we’re here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.  

 

I’m Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast. Today we are exploring the beautiful and complex island called the Common Wealth of Puerto Rico and one of its most celebrated poets, Julia de Burgos.  We are excited for many reasons to be celebrating this beautiful place and its cultural, social and creative contribution to our world.  The first and obvious being it is an enchanting place with both mountains and beaches, an expression of the paradise associated with the entirety of Caribbean.  But it goes without saying that every place is unique and Puerto Rico is different than even its closest neighbors- the Dominican Republic, Haiti or even Cuba.  But for many around the world, Puerto Rico is a mystery.   For one thing, It remains politically controversial- although there is no one who argues about its beauty or music.  Politically speaking, it’s often misunderstood. Some people think it’s an independent country, others think it’s an American state and although it is part of the United States-  Both of these understandings are absolutely incorrect.  It’s what today is called a protectorate.

That’s a word, you don’t really hear very much and is slightly ambiguous. 

True and there are those that suggest it’s a euphemism for a far more negative and older word- colony- and although it’s impossible to talk about the politics of Puerto Rico without getting a little controversial, we want to represent as best we can the views of the people who live there- even though, that is obviously not just one perspective so to use the language of the sea, I hope we can navigate today’s discussion respectfully  honoring Puerto Rico’s many voices- but more specifically the voice of Julia de Burgos who really did, in her work, attempt to give voice to her homeland. 

Well, I see you are introducing some water-based imagery- appropriate – I’m ready join the fun throwing caution to the wind and plunging into the Caribbean sea to explore this little enchanting island. 

Oh dear- don’t go adrift with your storm references there.  

 I know I might be treading water with my poetry as what we’re getting reading to read, but it’s in the spirit of an homage.-get it- treading water  It is interesting to note that the island is small.  It stretches only 111 miles from one side to the other, but in spite of its physical size- it has a powerfully diverse culture- and I’d like to say, that all the best things come in small packages. 

Are you speaking from personal experience- 

Well as a woman of small physical stature, but of undoubtedly great internal strength and diversity- I feel I can testify to this truth.

Well, I certainly won’t disagree with that!!  And let me say that the width of the main island is even smaller than that, 39 miles wide, but in spite of its small geography, the history of Puerto Rico situates the island and its people inside a very complicated ongoing global narrative.  Starting when the Spanish explorers arrived in the 16h century, people from all corners of the world have arrived on these shores bringing with them a wide range of understandings of who they are, what their relationship is with other people and even what their relationship to God should be.  This concentration of cultures and worldviews has brought with it a lot of turbulence and power struggle in a small space making Puerto Rico unique, even among its neighbors.

Very much so- Puertorriqueno culture diffuses Spanish, American, African and Caribbean cultures into a beautiful mixed heritage, and while obviously no island resident will suggest there are not scars or even open wounds because of its difficult past, there is also something beautiful and promising in the spirit of this place.  And this week we want to honor and highlight a Puerto Rican Poet who absolutely embodies every bit of this and more, Julia de Burgos- born on February 17 of 1914, and who died on July 6, 1953, a young woman still aged 39.  She was ambitious, brilliant, and in many ways ahead of her time as she experienced and talked openly about issues that today dominate political and social discourse, but at her time were largely not openly discussed.  That’s the political side of her- on the personal side of her, she was a woman trying to understand her global identity as a citizen, as a professional and as a woman.  In all three ways she stressed the social and religious norms of her family, community and even the world. She was born into the culture of Puerto Rico, but was an ex-patriate living in New York by the age of 25.  She remained an expat all the way to her death.  She was always very certain in her political drive, but Her pursuit of personal identity was different perhaps more troubled, at least I find it to be so.  Having said that when we read her work we see political passion- and not just hers, but the passion of a nation- and when we read her work looking at it through the lens of the person- it’s not necessarily autobiographical. The words and images with which she expresses her understanding of herself and her world employ the beauty of her homeland and expand from there more globally.  We’ve talked about this with so many authors, but she takes the particulars of her experience and applies those ideas to the world at large.  Oh and one more thing-  There’s also a lot of sensuality and passion that comes from her Latin roots- so there’s something to look forward to.  

Oh my!

What’s impressive about her work is that it has aged really well.  It was actually well received during her life, but after she died it has only grown in popularity.  Some would say it’s because the world is more open to a broader range of writers, and of course that’s true, but I would also suggest it’s because her feelings were things more and more people talk openly about or even understand today than in her day.  In 2010, the US postal service selected to put her image on a postage stamp- and to me- that’s such a tribute- it takes a while some times, but it’s nice to see this woman, the culture and struggle she so much loved and represented, honored in such an appropriate way- a postage stamp to take  words around the world for the woman- nothing could be more appropriate.  So Garry, I know you can call tell that I think this week’s episode is special- so let’s jump in---another ocean pun!!  I’m excited to listen to what you have to say about the history of this amazing place, and I’m excited to discuss one of its most celebrated literary icons. 

For sure- I’m ready for the dive-

 

Well, Shell we say…let’s do it!

 

Anchors away-  let’s get started.  What a lot of people don’t know about Puerto Rico is that it is the oldest colony on planet earth: four centuries under Spain and depending on how you define the relationship today, some would argue now a century under the United States.  It was a strategic trade link in the area, so even though it didn’t have a lot of minerals like gold to entice those original conquistadors, the Spanish built several forts and things like that on the island. But jumping ahead from the conquistadors and the Spanish- this little place became a focal point during the Spanish/American war- a war most people don’t even know happened.  When Teddy Roosevelt before he became president he can be quoted as saying to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, “I earnestly hope that no truce will be granted and that peace will only be made on consideration of Cuba being independent, Porto Rico ours and the Phillippines taken away from Spain.”  This kind of language today is scandalous.  Why are Spain and the US arguing about who will own what today we would consider places that pertain to people groups far from their homeland?  We don’t identify or much less agree with imperialism as it expressed itself in the last century-so brazen and bold in its objectives- today the relationship between politics and economics is more blurred, we are much more comfortable with this kind of aggressive language coming from the mouths of CEOs of companies more so than from presidents of countries.  The world was very different back then- remember this is before both World Wars- but all of a sudden in 1898, conflict has arrived in Puerto Rico.

Well, I have to be honest, I’m one of those people who doesn’t know anything about the war between the United States and Spain.  

 I could say a lot about that because that was basically the result of a lot of fake news and hysteria on the part Of Hearst and Pulitzer, little  of which really had anything to do with Puerto Rico directly but suffice to say in 1898 it finds itself caught between the forces of two major super-powers.  The end result was that America actually invaded Puerto Rico in 1898.  The military campaign only lasted 19 days and when the Americans arrived on the beaches there was almost no resistance- only seven deaths.  Why would there be?  The island had been a colony of Spain; no one felt compelled to defend it.  There were so many residents of the island living in abject poverty.  As Machiavelli told us in the 1600s, regular people just want to live without oppression- and the poverty was oppressive.  Many people in Puerto Rico were hoping to find an improvement in their standard of living with the change in regime- less oppression, less hunger- translation- maybe the Americans will give us a better deal than the Spanish.  

And in some ways this did happen, with the collapse of the Spanish regime, came a lot of changes many positive- including a separation of church and state. which meant for women, all of a sudden, divorce was legal- and lots of women moved to take advantage of that benefit immediately.

True, and not just women, lots of workers began to mobilize in an attempt to get better conditions for workers in all areas: farmers, dock workers, artisans, construction workers- everyone was hoping for a better life.  But of course, again as Machiavelli warns us, the elites are always trying to oppress, and that happened here too.  The Sugar interests had a lot of power: mill owners, cane growers- all of these interests also mobilized.  The other big industry in Puerto Rico is coffee.  The coffee industry also had had its challenges under Spanish rule, and they were hopeful that the American market would help boost them- not necessarily for improved conditions for the workers, but an improved deal for the coffee plantation growers. 

 

 Now why does all of this matter?  

It matters because the overwhelming majority of the population of Puerto Rico consists of the rural poor.  Almost everyone in Puerto was living in a situation where they didn’t have schools, health care, shoes or even enough to eat.  Many spent their days working hard in the fields, but the money they generated through the crops they were producing never got back to their families- not as cash, not as public schools, not as social services of any kind.  This was the world as it presented itself to the family of Julia de Burgos.  The outside world was engaging in political events beyond their control- but for the de Burgos family like for most of the residents of this island, that stuff didn’t matter.  They didn’t know anything or even care anything about America’s expanding republic or the Foraker Act or anything like that.  They needed help surviving.  They were looking for someone to raise the standard of living for all residents, to provide food for the 14 children in this household.

Let me give you another detail to further compound and illustrate the reality of most people at the turn of the century in Puerto Rico.  Many of us remember in 2017, Hurricane Maria that devastated Puerto Rico- hopefully you saw the pictures, maybe contributed financially to the efforts to help.  If you remember, the hurricane devastated the island.  Even though today, Puerto Rico is more modern and has more infrastructure than in earlier days, still close to 3000 people died and they estimate that $90 billion dollars worth of damage occurred.  Well, in 1928, Hurricane San Felipe, the second, an equally or even more devastating storm hit the island.  They tell us that not a single building was untouched on the entire island.  In Burgos town of Carolina, people died.  Hundreds of thousands were left absolutely homeless. Julia would have been 13 years old when that hurricane hit and the devastation would have been greater than that of today.  

Well, let me jump in to Burgos story here.  You mentioned that she was born in the town of Carolina and that she was born very poor.  Today Carolina is a nice sized town, but that was not Burgos reality.  She lived in kind of the outskirts in a poor area.  You mentioned that she was the oldest of 13 children, let me add that Six of her younger siblings died of malnutrition.   So, hopefully you can get a picture of the struggle that is forming her worldview.  In Julia’s childhood there was not a feeling a hope for the future.  That wasn’t happening for anyone around here.  However, in Julia’s case.  She was lucky, and she caught a break.  Julia was awarded a scholarship to attend an elementary school.  Julia was the only member of her family given this opportunity, and she performed extremely well.  She graduated from Munoz Rivera Primary school and got a scholarship to attend a high school in a neighbor place.  However,  In order for her to be able to take advantage of this opportunity, her entire family would have to move, and they did.  They moved to Rio Piedras.  From there she eventually was able to enroll in the University of Puerto Rico.  It’s truly all very impressive, and it’s hard to imagine the kind of effort the entire family would have had to contribute to make this a possibility.  But, by the time she was 19 had earned a teaching degree and was teaching elementary school.  And it was in the city, as a young adult as she became more involved in city life, she also became more involved in the political scene of her country.  She got involved with the independence movement.  She became a journalist, she wrote poetry and openly and actively participated in the political scene.  Garry, what did that entail exactly for Puerto Ricans at this time?  I understand that now they are under American rule, but was this something residents wanted.   

And this is where I cannot speak for the people of Puerto Rico.  And it is most often asked question in regard to the people of Puerto Rico, even to this day.  What is the best political organization for this island?  All residents want higher standards of living, better access to everything, less human suffering.  But what political situation gives people the best chance for that?  That’s where the consensus ends?  Is Puerto Rico better off independent or is it better to have this protectorate relationship to the United States.  Is Puerto Rico better off as a state, like Hawaii, Alaska or any of the American states on the continent?

    Burgos felt very strongly that Puerto Rico should be independent.  She ran in circles that openly advocated for independence and were actively organizing people to support this cause. There was a Harvard trained lawyer named Petro Albizu Campos, who led a cane-cutters strike in 1934 that was a close associate of Burgos.  She even wrote about him in her poetry.  He was a revolutionary and was charged by the US government of seditious conspiracy- and eventually spent 30 years incarcerated.  This enraged Julia.  In fact, there was a lot of things like this going on during this time period that stung the minds and hearts of many in Puerto Rico no matter what position they took on the issue of independence.  During Julia’s days in Puerto Rico there were many riots.  I saw one quote from the newspaper, the “Independista”. where a woman was quoted saying “My mother left in a white dress and came home in a red dress.”  There was unrest.  There were also economic problems escalating.  Unemployment grew by 30% between the years 1030-1933.  This rise in poverty was close to home for Julia.  She took a job working for the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Agency distributing food to suffering people.  Burgos was very active and this was fairly unusual for women at this time period, even highly educated ones.  Unlike many women intellectuals who were her peers, she was very articulate and vocal with her political views.  

 Burgos talked about the riots in her poetry with these words in describing the death of Bolivar Marquez who was shot at one event, “Your blood is planted in a thousand living signs.”  This is just an example but when you read her poetry from this political perspective, it’s helpful to understand her world.  She talked about organizing the workers in her poem “Es nuestra la hora”- Ours is the Hour.  

 It is obvious to anyone that during Burgos years in Puerto Rico her heart, her work, her efforts were for the betterment of her homeland.  And although there may have been those who disagreed with her political goals as to what was best for Puerto Rico; no one could ever doubt her sincerity, her passion and her work ethic toward these goals.  This is also  around the time that she met and married her first husband, a man by the name of Ruben Rodriguez Beauchamp.

Well, this is where I want to drop in the first poem of hers, I’d like to read.  It’s her most famous by far and was written during these years when she’s young and involved in this struggle for Puerto Rican independence.  It was her break out poem.  She was only 21 when it was published and it launched for her a career where people of note noticed her.  She transitioned into no longer  a little poor girl from the suburbs.  She was getting visibility.   She was elected as the Secretary-General of the Daughters of Freedom.  She got invited to speak at rallies.  And although for us reading her most famous and most anthologized poem today might not come across as extremely political, especially in its English translation, it certainly can be read that way.  The poem involves a small child drawn toward a mysterious body of water.  The child is speaking to the river. You can read this poem as a tribute to the river that empties into the sea near her hometown, and of course it is a tribute to the landscape, but it’s more layered than that.  It can be read of a creation myth about the origins of Puerto Rico,talking about the beginning of time.  However, when I drop this poem into the context of her life story, I like to read this poem as a political poem.   When read politically, the child who wants to lose itself in the river’s rivulets can interpreted as a young country wanting to be lost from Imperialism.  In her poem she calls the greatest of her island’s tears..those that come from the eyes of my soul for my enslaved people.  There’s a lot of sensual imagery which blends and even intensifies the creation myth with the violence inherent in the political story of Puerto Rico.  This is especially noticeable in the last stanza. 

Another helpful well for me to read this poem, is in the veing of all Latin literature, and that is keeping in mind elements of magical realism.  That term, is extremely broad, and we’ve used it before and some would say may not apply.  But it’s this idea that you’re going to take realistic things and make them magical- Tim Burton does this in movies.  But beyond just being kind of magical, literature that uses magical realism is also allegorical- so we’re going to see this going on here too.  When I read this poem, just try to imagine in your mind what I’m reading.  Draw those pictures- you’ll find them odd, but interesting and emotional.  

 

I’m not going to stop each stanza and break the poem day because I think it’s better read without stopping, but Pay particular attention as I read this last stanza, where as in the beginning parts you see harmony between people and nature- by the end there is no more harmony.  Look at the strong colors: blue. Dark. Red.  Nude white flesh that turns you black.  These are strong images of violence they’re meant to reflect both the slaughter of indigenous people and the legacy of slavery.  Listen as I read it, now remember, just like when we were reading Petrarch’s poetry, we must know that this is not the actual poem, but an English translastion of the actual poem- some of the lyricism will obviously be lost, but the power of the images definitely translate. 

 

Big River of Loiza

Rio Grande de Loiza!… Elongate yourself in my spirit
and let my soul lose itself in your rivulets,
finding the fountain that robbed you as a child
and in a crazed impulse returned you to the path.
Coil yourself upon my lips and let me drink you,
to feel you mine for a brief moment,
to hide you from the world and hide you in yourself,
to hear astonished voices in the mouth of the wind.
Dismount for a moment from the loin of the earth,
and search for the intimate secret in my desires;
confuse yourself in the flight  of my bird fantasy,
and leave a rose of water in my dreams.

Rio Grande de Loiza!… My wellspring, my river
since the maternal petal lifted me to the world;
my pale desires came down in you from the craggy hills
to find new furrows;
and my childhood was all a poem in the river,
and a river in the poem of my first dreams.
Adolescence arrived. Life surprised me
pinned to the widest part of your eternal voyage;
and I was yours a thousand times, and in a beautiful romance
you awoke my soul and kissed my body.

Where did you take the waters that bathed
my body in a sun blossom recently opened?
Who knows on what remote Mediterranean shore
some faun shall be possessing me!
Who knows in what rainfall of what far land
I shall be spilling to open new furrows;
or perhaps, tired of biting hearts
I shall be freezing in icicles!

Rio Grande de Loiza!… Blue. Brown. Red.
Blue mirror, fallen piece of blue sky;
naked white flesh that turns black
each time the night enters your bed;
red stripe of blood, when the rain falls
in torrents and the hills vomit their mud.
Man river, but man with the purity of river,
because you give your blue soul when you give your blue kiss.
Most sovereign river mine. Man river. The only man
who has kissed my soul upon kissing my body.

Rio Grande de Loiza!… Great river. Great flood of tears.
The greatest of all our island’s tears
save those greater that come from the eyes
of my soul for my enslaved people.

What do you think, Garry, I know it’s hard to follow a poem when you just read it, but I find her poetry readable.  It’s something that we can follow just by listening. 

I’m going to let you come up with your own comment here.  

I have another one I want to read of hers.  It’s also quite famous. It’s called “To Julia’.  In this poem, Julia writes to herself.   It’s very relatable to many issues we hear young people discussing today, well before its time.  In this poem the speaker dramatizes the conflict between her socially acceptable constructed identity and her inner voice- for her that voice is tan artist.  In the poem, one Julia wants to get rid of the other Julia-and  there’s an internal battle between what may be a true or a false self.  This is the side of her work that although of course is still political in some sense, for me it struggles more deliberately with issues of identity.  This is example of her poetry, of which this is only one example, that feels more personal- and when we read it, we do feel something of an intimacy with her that lots of poetry doesn’t have.  Oh and  by the way, I don’t think I’ve even said, the body of her work includes around 150 poems, and although that’s what she’s most famous for she letters, essays and articles that are still read.  Garry, tell us a little bit about the rest of her life, we don’t have a lot of time, but knowing a few details of what happened to her brings an empathy as we read this second poem of hers.

Well there were a couple of events but also life choices Burgos made at around the age of 24 that significantly changed the direction of her life. First her mother had died of cancer just a couple of years before.  She had been sick for a while and Julia had spent every earned dollar she had trying to sustain her life- literally going from town to town peddling her books.  Her death was a blow.  Also, a little later she fell in love with a man by the name of Juan Grullon.  She had divorced her husband after being married only three years, but being a divorced woman in Puerto Rican society was not well received and getting involved with another man as a divorcee was even worse.  The stigma of being divorced led Burgos to join the many Puerto Ricans who migrated and have since migrated to the united states, many to New York where she went.  

And because of this, the new York Puerto-rican community known as Nuyoricans also and rightfully claim her as one of their poets.  She would spend most of the remaining years of her short life in New York.  

Manolo Guzman coined the term sexile to reference people, mostly homosexual people who have to leave their home and communities on account of sexual orientation, but others, including Julia de Burgos biographer, Vanessa Perez Rosario, have adapted the term to include women who are marginalized for being sexually transgressive- and that is Burgos case.  Julia’s family and community opposed her relationship to Grullon, so Burgos left first for East Harlem but then she followed Grullon to Cuba.  In Cuba, she shared her work with other Latin American writers, including the most illustrious Pablo Neruda who absolutely loved her work.  In fact it was Neruda who took the initiative to meet Julia. He said publicly that Julia was one of the greatest poets of the Americas.  Again her future looked promising.  While she was there the Institute of Puerto Rican literature gave her a literature prize in spite of per personal life- which shocked her.  

However, the upward trajectory was short-lived, it wasn’t too long after these high points, that her relationship with Grullon deteriorated to the point where one day, he came home with a plane ticket for her.  She was getting kicked out and sent back at 4pm on the same day that he showed up with the ticket.  He was returning her to New York.  48 hours after getting this news, she was in New York, tired, hungry, alone, with nowhere to go and with $5 in her pocket.    

She would marry one more time to a musician by the name of Armando Marin, but that marriage only lasted five years.  This last personal relationship tragedy took a toll on her.  She would struggle with alcoholism and depression for the rest of her life.  

On July 5, 1953, in the early morning hours, two New York City police officers spotted a body unconscious in the street near the corner of 5th Avenue and 106th St. in East Harlem.  It’s a mystery to this day as to what happened.  The police rushed her to Harlem Hospital, but she died shortly after midnight of pneumonia and cirrhosis of the liver,a result of her alcoholism.  The woman they found had no purse or any form of identification.  No one came to claim her body.  No missing person’s report with her description was filed, so  she was buried in a potter’s field in New York City. 

 

Finally after weeks of looking ,her friends found her. Her family and friends returned her body to Puerto Rico for a proper burial in her native Carolina. 

 Then finally,  irony of ironies in death finally received the recognition that she had tried to get her whole life. Her final collection of poetry, “El mar y tú” (“The Sea and You”), was published posthumously by her sister Consuelo. 

True, In Carolina today there is a monument erected in her honor.  And what’s more special than that , there is a bridge over the Rio Grand de loiza that’s named after her. The people of Puerto Rico celebrate her life.  The University of Puerto Rico awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1987. But her life is also celebrated in various places across the United States.  There are public schools in Puerto Rico, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago named after her. And of course, like you mentioned at the beginning In 2010, the Postal Service commemorated her life with a stamp for Hispanic Heritage Month.

The island embraced its poet. In the words of Saez Burgos “Julia de Burgos not only spoke her reality. She spoke about all of us.”

So, let’s finish out by reading this personal poem- the one that embodies the struggling Julia- the one we can relate to- the one inside. Christy, read it.  

To Julia

People now murmur that I am your enemy
For they claim that in verses
I reveal your essence to the world. 

They lie, Julia de Burgos. They lie, Julia de Burgos.
The voice uplifted in my verses is not your own: it is mine,
For you are garment and I essence;
And the greatest abyss lies between the two.

You are the cold-blooded puppet of social deceit,
And I, the driving splendour of human truth.
You, of courtesan hypocrisies…the honey; not I;
Whose heart is revealed in my poems…all.
You are like your world, selfish; not I;
Who dares all to be what I truly am.

You are merely the implacable, elegant lady;
Not I; I am life, I am strength, I am woman.
You belong to your husband, to your master; not I;
I belong to no one, or to everyone, because to all,
everyone,
In wholesome feeling and thought, I give myself.

 

You curl your locks and paint yourself, not I;
I am curled by the wind; brightened by the sun.
You are homebound, resigned, submissive,
Confined to the whims of men; not I;
I am Rocinante galloping recklessly
Wandering through the boundaries of God’s justice.

You are not in command of self; everyone rules you:
You are ruled by your husband, your parents, relatives,
The priest, the seamstress, theatre, club,
The car, jewels, the banquet, champagne,
Heaven and hell and… social hearsay.
But not me, I am ruled by my heart alone,
My sole thought; it is “I” who rules myself.

You, aristocratic blossom; and I, the people’s blossom.
You are well provided for, but are indebted to everyone,
While I, my nothingness to no one owe.
You, nailed to the stagnant ancestral dividend;
And I, but one digit in the social cipher.
We are the encroaching, inevitable duel to the death.

When the multitude uncontrolled runs,
The ashes of injustices, burnt, left behind,
And when with the torch of the seven virtues,
The throng to the seven sins gives chase,
I will be against you and against all
That is unjust and inhuman.
Upholding the torch… I shall be among the throng.

 

Christy, do you want to say anything about that poem.

Not really, unlike a Petrarchean sonnet, Burgos poetry is very readable.  It speaks for itself.  She speaks for herself, and I think that’s just like she would like it.

May we extend our respect to one of Puerto Rico’s most outspoken women, the beautiful and timeless Julia de Burgos.  Copies of these poems are on our website along with the listening guide if you’re a teacher looking for classroom materials.  If you are listening for pleasure, please connect with us on Instagram, FB or Linked in.  Follow us on Twitter, and if you’d like to get our little newsletter where we give a blurb about the books or pieces we’re highlighting, let us know any way you communicate, and we’d love to add you to our newsletter list.  

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