envoy - 059
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E n v o y The official newsletter of the CCLA
I.S.S.N. 1911-0693
October 15, 2012 Issue 059
Dear CCLA members and Lit Lovers:
A quick note with a quick Envoy. Our CCLA member and editor of The
Envoy, Stella Mazur Preda, contacted me the other day and told me that the
next issue of The Envoy will be postponed by a month and will be comingout sometime in November.
Also Stella let me know that she will have to step down as editor because
of lifes complications. We look forward to your next issue Stella and will be
sad that your contribution to the CCLA and Envoy editor has to come to an
end.
This issue will just be a quick issue catching you up on the summer thatquickly came to a close. It will tide you over until Stellas November issue.
The weather man is warning us that Old Man Frost is hovering just around
the corner for some and has already hit for others.
So the first frosty bit of business is asking the membership if anyone is
interested in being the editor for The Envoy. It need not be a complicated
or arduous task. Collect submissions in a folder, do the layout and design,
and present an issue as often as you like - as large or as small as you like.Contact me if you are interested.
All the best
prez tai
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Marmora Ontarios PurdyFest Literary Festival, August 3 - 5
Once again CCLA members gathered on Chris Faierss scenic river-side retreat- ZenRiver Garden - for poetry readings, this time back-to-
back with a group of Kingston area writers whose anthology Tai had
recently published. Tai, president of the CCLA and publisher of Hid-
den Brook Press, presided over both sets of readings.
The two groups joined in a feeling of camaraderie, we shared a bot-
tle of good Cuban rum, our friend Honey Novick from the Canadian
Cuban Friendship Association sang for us, the sun shone warmly . . .and then a big black cloud came and rained on us. But we didnt let it
spoil our fun. Thirty of us huddled under Tais large display tents,
brought out umbrellas and raincoats, did what we could to hide from
wind-blown rain and from water cascading down between the roofs,
and kept on reading. Some papers may have got wet but we had a
fine poetic afternoon.
John Hamley CCLA member
Remember- if you would like to organize a CCLA reading or festivalin your area just let us know and we will get the word out to our
members. We have members across the country. We can hook you
up with members in your area. ALSO if you would like to present aspecial issue of The Envoy with a special them let me know what
you have planned.
Send me your content for a future issue of The Envoy.Tai Writers@HiddenBrookPress.com
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A BOOK REVIEW
In the Embrace of the Alligator
by Amanda Hale
Publisher: Thistledown Press Ltd.ISBN: 978-1-897235-87-4$18.95 CADPages: 270
I am a Canadian who felt halfCuban
This read was outstanding! I was blown
away by how much knowledge and in-
sight of Cuba Amanda Hale has and
has included in her book In the Embrace of the Alligator. Her state-
ment the story of Cuba is in the experience of daily life (p. 255), is trueindeed and flows throughout the story as I was turned into the Cana-
dian narrator. For me In the Embrace of the Alligator was more than a
novel, but felt like a work of literary non-fiction, a narrative of actuality
as well as a psychological novel. As a reader I was given an insiders-
outsiders perspective on not only the physicality of the characters and
their adventures, but also their emotional lives through a mix of first
and third person perspectives. To be honest, after only one tourist visit,I do not know Cuba to the extent I want, but after my visit and after
reading this book, due to the detail, metaphors, setting, characters,
love, deaths, to the degree of the authentic foods, I felt I turned from a
pure Canadian to half Cuban. I was engrossed in the heart of Cuba; as
Hale saidBeneath the layers of its onionla cebolla.
Hale says Language shapes our thinking and feeling, so there is a
part of me now that finds expression only in Cuba (p.248). As a Cana-dian who has a strong bond with Cuba and its people, a quote like this
I could relate to, because I felt after I left Cuba, I left a part of me be-
hinda part I never knew I had in the alligator. Reading, In the Em-
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brace of the Alligator has only made me realize that Cuba will always
have a special place in my heartmi corazn.
As far as my goals concerning Cuba, I very much want to return toCiego De Avila, where my Cuban adventure started. I would like to
participate in literary conventions and to visit good friends there. I
hope that my writing will be recognized in other cities and provinces
there as well.
I am 20 years old, born in Toronto, Canada, West Indian background.
My Spanish is growing every day. I am in my third year at York Uni-
versity, majoring in Creative Writing and Literature. It is my priority totake my fiction and poetry further so that eventually it will have po-
tential to be published; not just
in Canada, but internationally.
I have the intention of learning
something new every day
whether its about writing itself
or other writers and their theo-ries. In the Embrace of the Al-
ligator was a wonderful
learning and life lesson for me.
CCLA Member Danielle Dinally
Member News:
Another 5 star review ofThe LastStoicby CCLA member Morgan Wade
see review at SmashWords.com https://www.smashwords.com/books/
view/156144
ALSO - his book had been long listedfor the Relit Award.
Is it time you read his book and sentus a review?
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Holgun, Cuba September 06/2012
Dear Friends,
I hope you had a nice summer, and you are doing well. Here, in July
and August all the students were on holidays. Beaches, pools, camp-
ing sites, everywhere you went it was full of people, but it was great.
Monday 3rd was the beginning of a new academic year, now schools
are swarming with children in their colorful uniforms.
In the end of June, my daughter came with her husband and son and
we went touring in a car from Pinar del Ro to Guardalavaca. It wasfantastic. She arrived 5 days before her family, and we spent those
days visiting relatives and friends, shopping, and going around to-
gether. Then we travelled to Havana to join the others the day they
were arriving. There they hired a car and we spent 2 days in Havana,
then travelled to Pinar del Ro to visit Soroa and Valle de Viales, the
vegetation and the mogotes are awesome. We also went to La
Cueva del Indio, where we walked about 200 mts. and then we sailedin a motor boat through a river inside the cave until we came out on
the other side. This was a very exciting experience for me. There we
stayed for a night, and continued to Varadero (it was a one night stay
in most of the places). We visited a crocodile breeding farm that is in
the road to Playa Girn, and The Treasure Lagoon, amazing places.
In Varadero the beach was wonderful, I didnt want to leave. But in the
morning we had to drive to Bellamar Caves and then continue to
Cienfuegos. Here we found a beautiful city, an impressive seawalland stayed in Pasacaballo Hotel, just above the bay and in front of
Jagua Castle. Its a pity we didnt visit it. This hotel has a wonderful
sea water pool, we enjoyed it until next day at noon when we drove
to Trinidad. This city was a real surprise, I never thought they had so
many colonial houses, old streets, and so well preserved (although its
famous for it). Here we went to Ancn beach. We continued our tour
next day to Camagey, in this city we walked around and discoveredmany special places. Next we drove to Bayamo (this is a city I love),
and walked around and enjoyed it as much as possible. From here we
went to Santiago de Cuba and stayed in Villa Gaviota, they have a
great pool. In the morning we went to visit El Morro and El Cobre,
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then continued to Holguin where we stayed for two days in El Bosque
Hotel. Most of the time we were visiting relatives that had invited us
for a special dinner or lunch, although we made some time to enjoythe pool. From here we drove to Guardalavaca where we stayed for
6 days, this was my special treat (my daughter knows its my favorite
beach). On the 19th of July we came back home and they continued
driving to Havana, since they would fly from there. I was very happy,
but also felt very lonely when they left. Luckily I had a lot to do: a dirty
house, laundry, and so on.
In August my son came to visit with his family for 5 days. It was dur-ing the carnivals, we took my six-year-old granddaughter to all the
places she could enjoy. Since they left, that was on the 21st, I am try-
ing to get back to my daily routine but Its not easy. I have lots of
books to read, poems and stories I want to translate, but the weather
is really hot, so most of the time I end watching TV or listening to
music. I think I am under a slight melancholic state. Nevertheless, I
have gone to some literary-cultural activities.
Manuel, Adonay and Pablo have spent all these days at home.
Manuel, working full time on his books as always. I got them to go
with me on a one day trip to Gibara, where we visited Jorge and his
family. Pablo, Adonay, and I went swimming for a while. Now I booked
in Campismo a one-day tour to Gibara on the 16th for the 4 of us. It
is cheap and theyll give us lunch and snacks, this way we wont bur-
den Jorge with the cooking.
I also went to Guardalavaca on a one-day tour. I intend to go for a
weekend when the low season starts and its cheaper. I love this
place, the beach and the pools are good and you can go to the show
every night after dinner. There you have a good time and meet people.
Miriam Estrella Vera Delgado
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DRIVING CUBA
To Erich, Diana and JanIn July I enjoyed
An adventurous tourThat filled my heartWith joyAnd served to me asCure.With an audaciousCaptainAnd a three-memberCrew
We rode mountains andValleysAnd admired every view.Visiting historical placesCaverns and fortresses,We searched every cornerTheir secrets tried toGuess.
A centenarian seawallWas there for us to admire,A crocodile breeding farmAnd a magic water fall.Our days were freshAnd happyThanks to beaches andPools
We enjoyed them to theMaximumBut followed all theRules.Zigzagging throughThe countryFrom the tip to the endSo many things surprisedUsWe discovered and learned.
August 18/2012My love and best wishes
Miriam Estrella Vera Delgado
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My dear friends, a couple of news items from the family here.
Last Thursday, Pablo was in his learning to bicycle lessons
with me (he already drives) and bumped into a cardona hedge
(cardona is a very thorny cactus they use to build fences) andscratched his face, chest, head and hands badly. Miraculously,
he did not hurt his left eye, his guardian angel must have been
alert. Luckily, these were only scratches, he now looks like a
Black Foot Indian from the prairies but is ready to go again into
his lessons, a brave boy he is.
Yesterday, Manuel Alejandro [Manuels middle son, a doctor]arrived home from Venezuela. He will be here for a month. He
is now more mature and self-assured, I am proud of him and
his job healing the poor for almost nothing tangible in return.
Last night, we had a historical rainfall, 70 cm in three hours.
Probably the universe was moved with my heart because of
the return of my son.
The symposium is over (an hour ago), at last! I have so manythings to do for the weekend that my plan does not include
sleeping, and next week looms very busy beyond the Sunday's
horizon.
Manuel
Coast of Gibara, Cuba
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The Grey Dog in the Parking Lot
I am so busy as usual but I decided to take a couple of hours and
drive 90 minutes north to a poetry reading for the book That Not For-gotten that I published and launched in the summer. The editor or-
ganized the post-launch reading for the Friday night it was not
obligatory that I go but I wanted to be supportive of the efforts of the
editor and authors. I dragged myself from the sofa where I had fallen
asleep sitting up while having something to eat after a long day of in-
stalling the red metal roof to the new extension I had built a month
ago. I darted from my slumber and pushed my way into clean clothsand slumped into my car. I made record time and got to the reading
venue just in time.
The store where the reading was taking place was called The Cat
Saas a joke on the phrase The Cats Ass. As I pulled into the
small town of Norwood I stopped and leaned out the car window to-
wards a gaggle of teenagers. With carful pronunciation I asked if theyknew where the Cat Saas was. The request for directions was met
with hilarious cackles and gesticulations. Oh fuck yah man, the fuckin
Cats Ass is just around the corner man. Fuckin cool place man, you
cant miss it. Thirty seconds later I was prancing into a very cool store
front coffee shop come music store filled with funky stuff. I bought a
coffee decaf and a muffin. After a quick chit chat with a few friends
I settled in for the readings for which I almost fell asleep a reflec-tion of how tired I was not on the quality of the readings. Half way
through I stood at the back with no wall to rest on so that my mind
would be alert to the authors contributions.
After the readings and more pleasantries exchanged I headed home
tracing my circuitous country route, driving through the tunnel of
black, silver headlights piercing the ebony wall. I got to the small townof Hastings where I needed to turn and change highways from #45
to #25. After the turn I drove for 30 minutes before I realized that I had
taken the wrong spoke in the convoluted junction. No problem I
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thought I will just turn right instead of going all the way back to my
miss guided turn. I turned onto a pitch dark road where not even a
cows silver eyes were present to dart me in the right direction. Oh fi-
nally lights in the distance. I must be close to home.
I took another turn onto another well marked but desolate road.
Strange, very strange, it was the #7 highway. My choice was west to
Toronto or east to Ottawa. Toronto I knew was wrong so east I chose.
40 minutes later I arrived, can you believe it, right back at exactly the
town from where I had departed. How on earth is that possible!!!!!!!!!!
I looked at my map and with no hesitation I headed back out of thenow sleeping town of Norwood. A grey haired dog sat in the parking
lot of a slumbering Coffee Time store front that I had driven past going
into town and once again as I left an hour ago. The dog sat on his left
haunch gazing at the flickering street lights most assuredly did not
notice the bewildered glaze that veiled my eyes as I slowly, very cau-
tiously drove out of town for the second time.
A silly smirk drained from my squinting face. Ok finally there is Hast-
ings again where I must have made my fatal turnabout mistake. A
small sigh said highway 45 turn right here. So, there is no way I am
going to make that mistake and follow #45 again. With a sense of
school boy pride I snubbed the turn and continued straight looking for
highway #25. Pride has a way of biting you in the cats ass if you are
not careful. Three minutes later I realized that I was not on the rightpath after all. Once again the town of Hastings foiled my return home.
I pulled into the parking lot of Smith and Smith Funeral Home to make
a quick recalculation. With a tentative smile I zipped through the de-
serted town and put the pedal to the medal. What I did not realize was
that I was driving in the Twilight Zone. 15 minutes later, there ahead
of me was the Norwood neon flickered grey dog. How on earth is that
possible!!!!!!!!!!!
I pulled in beside the dog that still sat basking in star light to gather my
senses. The map light revealed that I had simply traveled back
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through the same tunnel of doom after leaving Smith and Smiths. It
would appear that all wrong turns lead back to the cats ass and the
neon flickered grey dog. I shut my eyes for ten minutes, composed
myself and headed once again into the abyss.
When I arrived at the infamous Hastings intersection I sat refusing to
make a turn. I sat and read the sign that said #45. I read the sign that
said #2 and the arrow that pointed to #10. I consulted my map again
and again. At 3 miles an hour I coasted through the red blinking in-
tersection. I coasted towards the #45 against all instinct. I coasted
past the familiar Home Hardware store. I gently coasted past the
church on the right, the municipal building on the left and finally there
it was the arrow under the #25 south sign. I tentatively, ever so slowly
coasted to the left of the fork in the road past the monument, over the
bridge. I coasted for five minutes refusing to put my foot on the gas
until I was finally confident that I was finally out of the Twilight Zone
and heading in the right direction. 30 minutes later I was pulling into
the security of my gravel Wicklow driveway. For just a moment, a mil-
lisecond, I swear I thought that I saw the grey haired dog sitting wait-
ing for me. A raccoon lumbered out of the beams of my car lights. I
was finally home.
Tai
Coast of Gibara, Cuba
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