Not everyone was spellbound by his prose.
By: Gwen Runkle
The meeting room of the Princeton Public Library was packed with more than 50 people Thursday night who came to hear renowned Cuban poet Pablo Armando Fernandez read from his book "Parables."
But not everyone was spellbound by his prose.
Several audience members who identified themselves as Cuban Americans questioned the timing of the program in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America and Mr. Fernandez’s support of the Cuban government.
"This man agrees wholeheartedly with Fidel Castro, who finances and harbors terrorists. It is an insult to the American community to have him speak at this time," said Alba Rohdes, a Cuban American who said she moved to United States in 1971 and lives in Colts Neck, before the reading.
"We understand that the library has planned this for six months, but in light of what happened, they should have postponed it at the very least. This is in very poor taste and is very poor timing," she said.
Mr. Fernandez, a native of Cuba and one of the country’s foremost poets, is the author of more than 20 books of verse. Several of his poems are revered in Cuba for honoring heroes of that country’s communist revolution.
Earlier this week, the library was inundated with e-mails from Ms. Rohdes and other Cuban Americans from Florida, California and New York threatening to hold a demonstration at the library unless it canceled the public appearance by Mr. Fernandez.
Ms. Rohdes said such action was called off after the library invited anyone with concerns to air them at the poetry reading.
Ms. Rohdes and two other Cuban Americans did attempt to question Mr. Fernandez about his support of the Cuban government, but for the most part were quickly swept aside by Professor Arcadio Diaz, a teacher in the Spanish and Portuguese department of Princeton University, who mediated the question-and-answer period after Mr. Fernandez’s reading.
Mr. Fernandez appeared flustered at times with the protesters’ questions. At one point, he said with a raised voice, "I don’t want to talk about this now. I don’t want to answer."
Library Director Leslie Burger stressed that the focus of Thursday’s program was not to be politics.
"We are sensitive to the concerns of the members of the Cuban-American community who have opposed our decision to host Mr. Fernandez, but we are also committed to upholding intellectual freedom," Ms. Burger said.
"We thought about canceling or postponing, but this program’s focus is not on a discussion of politics. The idea is to bring international artists, poets and writers to talk about their work and cultures," she said.
Mr. Fernandez read his poetry as part of Live! @ your library, a series of programs centered around the theme of "Losing Geography, Finding Self," which explores how artistic identity is changed when artists cross borders. These programs are put together by the library, The Arts Council of Princeton and Princeton High School.

