Generation Zero

A Spanish-language reading by two poets creating the new generation of Cuban and Cuban-American poetry. Legna Rodríguez Iglesias and Yosie Crespo discuss the concept of "Generation Zero," a new movement in Cuban poetry. This is Iglesias's first public reading in the United States.

Legna Rodríguez Iglesias was born in Camagüey, Cuba, on the 15th of December, 1984. A poet and writer residing in Cuba, she received the Julio Cortázar Ibero-American Short Story Prize. She was also awarded the Wolsan-CubaPoesía Prize in 2013, awarded by the Asia-Iberoamerica Foundation of Bogotá and the Havana International Poetry Festival. Anxious and idle. Freckled. With thirteen tattoos and two in the making, she has managed to published the following works thanks to her lucky stars: Chicle, poetry, Colección Limón Partido, Proyecto Literal, México 2013; Chupar la piedra, poetry, Casa Editora Abril, 2013; Tregua fecunda, poetry, Ediciones Unión, 2012; Mayonesa bien brillante, novel, Editorial Matanzas, 2012; El momento perfecto, poetry, Editorial Matanzas, 2012; Dos uno cero, selection of poetry and short story, Thesaurus Editora, Brasilia, 2012; ¿Qué te sucede, belleza?, 2011; Ne me quitte pas, short story, Casa Editora Abril, 2010; Los mágicos, children’s literature, Editorial Cauce, 2008.

Yosie Crespo was born in Pinar del Río, Cuba, on the 15th of March of 1979. A poet and writer residing in Miami, she received the "Nuevos Valores de la Poesía Hispana" Prize (2011) awarded by Ediciones Baquiana and the Centro Cultural Español (CCE) for her poetry collection Solárium, published in April 2012. She has been the recipient of numerous other awards, among them the First Prize of the IV Federico García Lorca Award for Young Poets in Spain (2011), the International Short Story Award of the 2010 Buenos Aires International Book Fair, The 2011 Luis Felipe Short Story Award, Miami, FL. She is the author of La ruta del pájaro sobre mi cabeza (Ediciones Torremozas, Madrid, España, 2013), and Solárium (Ediciones Baquiana, Miami, Florida, 2012).