by M. Malcolm King, Gabrielle David & India DuBois
“I am of African-Caribbean descent and Puerto Rican,”says Louis Reyes Rivera. “I am very uncomfortable with terms like “Hispanic” and “Latino” because they are Anglo definitions that are not only historically inaccurate, but also tend to downplay the existence of an African and Amerindian connection. I am of both African and Amerindian descent in addition to any European background that I may have in my family tree.”
Louis Reyes Rivera is an internationally recognized poet and a professor of Pan-African, African-American, Puerto Rican, Nuyorican and Caribbean literature and history. He has taught at Hunter College, College of New Rochelle, State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook and currently teaches at Pratt Institute. Rivera has published several volumes of poetry and his most recent collection, Scattered Scripture (Shamal Books, 1996), along with various other essays and poetry have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies. Rivera is the recipient of a Special Congressional Recognition Award (1988) for his work as a poet lecturer voicing concern about the conditions of African American and Caribbean people. He has held readings throughout the eastern U.S., the Caribbean and in southern and eastern Europe, and is the host of El Barrio Speaks, a cable television program in New York City. Born and bred in Brooklyn, Rivera was reared in the Marcy Projects during the street gang activities of the 1950s and early 1960s.
At first glance, Rivera appears unassuming in appearance. Barely five feet tall, he can easily disappear into a crowd. But, when Rivera speaks, he quickly transforms into a giant among men. With sweeping gestures and impassioned prose, Rivera lights up when he shares his thoughts about poetry.
Asked how he became interested in literature, Rivera says “I was always interested in literature. My mother taught me how to read before I got into school. Later on, my grandmother made me read the Bible in Spanish before I could go out to play. When I was fifteen years old, I recognized I had a capacity and inclination towards writing and devoted myself to learning all about the various approaches to writing. I trained as a journalist in college, but found that being a reporter would not allow me to be the free agent that I needed to be. Once I graduated from college, I set out to establish myself as a poet.”
Rivera’s taste in poetry is diverse. His influences range from Steinbeck and John Oliver Killens to Pablo Neruda and Clemente Soto Velez and Gylan Kain. “There are a lot of poets I respect,” explains Rivera. “My contemporaries, Sekou Sundiata, Fatisha, and Gylan Kain, as well as Castillo from Guatamala, Neruda from Chile and Guillen from Cuba to name a few, impress me for their sound quality.”
When asked whether Rivera writes for self, audience or the moment, he responds, “That depends upon the poem and the image. I can tell you what I strive for: I want human understanding between myself and my reader, and I don t want to use poetry as a self-confessional form about all the hangups I have. I try to bring an urging into my work and present a search for clarity. I believe there are three reasons why someone writes poetry. The first is therapeutic. Poetry is a way to leanse yourself of what it is that bugs you. The second reason is commercial, like writing lyrics. The third reason is vocational . . . you re on a mission, you have a duty to perform. Every human being on this planet has a poem inside him, but it doesn t mean they are capable or willing to take the risk of giving voice to their voice. That s where we come in . . . this is the vocation of the poet. That is what drives me, more than any other factor.”
The foundation of Rivera s work is history, and this base is evident as the reader explores past and present history in the pages of his books. When he became aware he could write and that it was his calling, Rivera promised himself never to lie to people. “History,” explains Rivera, “is one of the things that moves me and guides my writing. He uses this historical perspective to point out the weaknesses and abuses of human kind.”
The beauty of Rivera s work comes through both orally and through reading; and when people read his poetry out loud or hear him read, the music really shines through. He mingles street language with jazz in an earthy and vital way. “Music, in particular, jazz, is an integral part of my life, so I attempt to bring that element of music into my prose and poetry. I’ve always been as much an oral poet as I have been a literary poet. If you read my work out loud, you can swing with the music, and with the music, you can get the meaning. When I recite my work, there has never been a problem with me making a connection with my audience — people are genuinely moved by the poetry that s because I m reflecting concerns and images which they can identify in a musical format. Poetry is music as much as it is words with meaning reflecting an experience. Color, sound and sense — for me all three is what makes a poem move. Because I do rely more on one syllable words to establish the patterns of sound, it becomes easier for the reader to hear as well as see my poems.”
Beyond history and music, Rivera raises human issues in his poetry. “The poet of the dispossessed, the poet of outrage and the poet who makes sense, are phrases that have been used to describe the content of my work. I am a trained journalist, so in my poetry, I attempt to bring the news and communicate a story which includes pain, struggle and contribution.”
” I understood from the very beginning of my career that I was embarking on a journey in which proper recognition would not be given me because the vast majority of our major publishing houses are owned by international conglomerate corporations who control information. Think about it — our perspective is shaped by a small group of people who control more than seventy-five percent of what we re likely to read. No one denies the quality of my work craftwise. But because the content of my work expresses my commitment to the underclass and the disinherited which contradicts their political agenda, they have whited me out.”
Much in the spirit of Borinqueño poet Luis Pales Matos, Rivera evokes a sameness in people of African descent and is considered by many to be the bridge between Pan-African, African and Latino communities. “In this country,” explains Rivera, “there are only two sides of the question, the white side and the black side. The Latino side does not exist. It s not given any cognizance. A Puerto Rican writer like myself who raises African-American issues is considered an anomaly and is therefore not encouraged. While in reality, I m raising human issues, they try to ghettoize it by saying it s a black issue, and because we (the Latinos) are not black, we re not supposed to connect with it. They are testifying to the racism, you see. They are telling on themselves.”
“When asked to share his viewpoints on multiculturalism and its effects on society,” Rivera says, Europe is no longer the center of the planet. We are now entering the post-European epoch and the Europeans must negotiate with the Asian and the African in order to retain some semblance of power. In order to do that, they will have to get rid of racism, but the only way they can do that is by cleaning up house which means us, the Caribbean and African American communities, and they are refusing to do that.”
“Instead,” continues Rivera, “they’ve created multiculturalism — a catch phrase used by Anglo Americans to diffuse the fact that they have yet to confront African scholarship. It has the potential to become the new con game if we are not careful. When they speak of multiculturalism, they are referring to a sanctioned symbol they have allowed to represent the people. It is the people who must raise up their own images and their own yardsticks for what defines them as community so that the terms multiculturalism and cultural diversity have true meaning.” exclaims Rivera. “What multiculturalism can do for us — especially people of color is that it can provide us an arena to discover the real deal of every-body s history. We need a planetary perspective and to realize that everyone on this planet has something to contribute. We need to know what all people have contributed, what their pain and their story is, and we need to know it on human terms.”
