Poetry Readings Focus on El Salvador

Juli Michaud didn’t expect much reaction when she read her poem about the slain El Salvadoran Jesuits to her Pierce College workshop in December. But her poem, “Seis Padres Muertos” (Six Dead Priests), made an impact.

“The class was bowled over. I was bowled over,” said Jill Waldron, the course instructor, about the poem that incorporates audience participation through chanting and call and response verses. “It’s so powerful. My immediate reaction was, ‘This needs to be heard .’ ”

Waldron, 53, a published poet who also has taught at Santa Monica College and UCLA and hosted radio station KCRW’s “Poetry Now” from 1974-76, is no stranger to the Los Angeles poetry community or performing poetry. She encouraged Michaud to “get the piece out there.”

But instead of a singular reading, Michaud’s efforts snowballed, taking on a life of their own. And on Sunday , at The Onion in Sepulveda, “La Fragil Cintura del Continente: Poesia del Conflicto” (Delicate Waistband of a Continent: Poetry of Conflict) will feature the poetic readings of Joaquin Meza of the University of El Salvador (translated by Ruben Martinez), Sara Martinez from El Salvador (translated by Jill Waldron), Michaud, Cathy Pettit and Ellen Demsky.

“Somehow, by putting the word out, I hooked up with Ruben,” said Michaud, 32, whose political science degree from CSUN focused on Central American politics and its literature. “It was Ruben who brought Joaquin into the picture. Joaquin’s work is fantastic. He’s able to convey the violence and tragedy of his country, but there’s something more. Something almost universal. His work speaks to me, even as an American.”

Ruben Martinez, 27, and a poet, met Joaquin Meza in 1985 while researching the literary community at the National University of El Salvador, the country’s intellectual stronghold since the late 1970s. Martinez was inspired by Meza’s force and conviction.

“Poetry has a longstanding tradition in El Salvador,” Martinez said. “And there, art is inseparable from politics, from life. It’s more than just a creator of beauty. It’s a moral response. Joaquin’s work is explosive.”

Martinez, who happened to be visiting the university in November when the Jesuits were murdered, was able to bring Meza to the United States on a “visitor’s leave.” Meza, 33, fled his country with several unpublished manuscripts and two copies of his 1989 collection, “Vincent, Tu y Las Golondrinas” (Vincent, You and the Swallows). The other 2,000 copies of that collection, Martinez said, were destroyed by the death squads. Meza will read from “Vincent,” as well as more recent works, Sunday.

What does Michaud hope the event will accomplish? If nothing else, a dialogue. An interaction between artist and audience that will keep the peaceful intention of the priests alive. A question and answer session will follow the readings.

“La Fragil Cintura del Continente: Poesia del Conflicto “ (Delicate Waistband of a Continent: Poetry of Conflict, An Evening of Central American Poetry, ) written and performed by Joaquin Meza, Sara Martinez, Jill Waldron, Juli Michaud, Cathy Pettit and Ellen Demsky, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, The Onion (Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society), 9550 Haskell Ave., Sepulveda, $5 suggested donation, $3 for limited incomes, call (818) 766-4469.