Multi-Awarded Matanzas Author at «Miércoles de Poesía»

The multi-awarded Matanzas writer Pablo G. Lleonart was the guest of the host of «Miércoles de Poesía» (Poetry Wednesday), poet and editor Alfredo Zaldívar Muñoa, director of Ediciones Matanzas.

During the afternoon gathering at the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba mansion, the young poet, narrator, critic, and journalist shared with those present poems from a text that has already accumulated several recognitions in contests both inside and outside the province.

«I am very happy with the book because it has had a fruitful trajectory. In 2024, it received the Juan Francisco Manzano creation grant awarded by UNEAC in Matanzas. Then, in 2025, a selection of poems from this book received the Prometeo creation grant awarded by Gaceta de Cuba, and in 2026, as a fully worked book, it received the José Manuel Poveda Poetry Prize, awarded by Editorial Oriente.

«I feel happy for the journey of these poems that I have been working on, that have found their place, and that have been well received both by the juries of these contests and by the reading public in the spaces where I have read them.»

Among the poems read by the also editor were «Obrero sin bolsillos» (Worker Without Pockets), «La naturaleza del poema» (The Nature of the Poem), «En mi jardín ya no pastan los héroes» (Heroes No Longer Graze in My Garden), «La gran rotura» (The Great Break), and «Plegaria 21» (Prayer 21).

Writer and playwright José Manuel Espino Ortega, president of the UNEAC provincial committee, praised the accomplished verses and the poet’s maturity, whose growth is noticeable in each text that is born, and asked him to share «Playstation sonnets» (winner of the Primavera Poética prize in March 2025).

The volume, which includes a prologue, three parts, and an epilogue, features texts with references to members of Lleonart’s family, his daily life, and some of his poetic references.

«In my poetry so far, I always keep family surroundings very present — my father, my mother, domestic space, our daily life as Cubans, what happens to us every day.

«In it, my references appear, the different poets I read, and I mix all that. I also make references as tributes to different writers. For example, two of the poems I read at the ‘Miércoles de poesía’ space are dedicated to Lorenzo García Vega, a Matanzas poet from the Orígenes generation, from Jagüey Grande.

«This 2026 marks the centenary of his birth, and I wanted to pay him tribute with ‘Un objeto parecido a Lorenzo García Vega’ (An Object Similar to Lorenzo García Vega), which plays with Lorenzo’s own life and the title of one of his poems, ‘Un objeto parecido a Mallarmé’ (An Object Similar to Mallarmé).

«Also appearing is Eduardo Chirinos, an important Peruvian writer who is one of the poets I have most admired. I especially included Damaris Calderón, a Cuban writer from Matanzas, based in Chile for many years, but who has published extensively with Ediciones Matanzas and has won several critics’ awards.

«Something happens to me with Damaris Calderón and Eduardo Chirinos. Chirinos unfortunately passed away; I never got to meet him, but I have the feeling that I did know him, and Damaris Calderón, fortunately, is still creating a great deal, but she doesn’t live in Cuba, and I don’t know her, but I feel as if I do, thanks to the many readings I have of her. Damaris was part of the jury that awarded me the José Jacinto Milanés prize.

«Laura Ruiz is also part of it because in this book there are two poems that are for her. When I speak of family, I include her. In some way, I feel something special unites me with all these writers, and what I tried to do was to transfer that to poetry and to make it a tribute from these verses to people I admire and love.»

In this regard, playwright, critic, and writer Ulises Rodríguez Febles expressed that «Pablo has been able to narrate his closest context with beauty, intelligence, and subtlety, and within those descriptions, I really like that he began his reading with a poem dedicated to his father and ended with Matanzas poet and editor Laura Ruiz as the protagonist.»

He highlighted that «the trajectory of the young man’s poetry and his awards show a significant element of Matanzas literature. We feel very proud of the generation of talented authors who are now part of the letters in the province,» he emphasized.

Along its path, the book has become enriched. Its structure has varied, and it has gone through several titles: in 2024, it appeared as a project as «Cementerio de naves espaciales» (Cemetery of Spaceships), then it would be «Doce segundos antes del fin de mundo» (Twelve Seconds Before the End of the World), until now, as a finished book, «Polaroid» won the Editorial Oriente prize.

About the opportunity to return to «Miércoles de poesía» — according to Zaldívar Muñoa, one of the only spaces in the country dedicated entirely to poetry, without support from other manifestations — the author of «Habitantes de Marte» (Inhabitants of Mars), «El rumor de un lejano galope de caballos» (The Rumor of a Distant Gallop of Horses), and «Casa junto a la vía del tren» (House by the Train Tracks) reflected.

«The invitation to ‘Miércoles de poesía’ is special. It is a space I have known since my pre-university student days. I used to come to these spaces always as an audience member, listening. It is a mythical space, as Zaldívar says, through which great figures of Latin American poetry have passed, especially, for example, one of the great Chilean poets; in its early days, Eliseo Diego was also there.»

«For all this, coming to read the poems at UNEAC — which is also the house of writers and artists, where many of these poems also emerge, and which gave me the Juan Francisco Manzano grant to work on the book — is very special.

«It gladdens me, and I really liked what happened today because it was a reading among friends, surrounded by people I love very much, and I believe that is the most important thing — the people with whom one shares poetry.»

Pablo G. Lleonart was previously invited to «Miércoles de poesía» in January 2024 and, together with Laura Ruiz, in September of the same year.

The «Miércoles de Poesía» corresponds to a space dedicated exclusively to poetry readings, through which all the renowned voices of the 1970s passed, including Eliseo Diego, Cintio Vitier, Fina García Marruz, Roberto Fernández Retamar, Antón Arrufat, and others who visited the country or resided temporarily, such as Mario Benedetti and Ernesto Cardenal.