Friday, May 2, 2008

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
The poems offer rich character portraits through concise, heightened language, and their order within the cycle provides suspense. Four characters tell the bulk of the story: Rosa, a child who grows up to be a nurse who heals the wounded, sick and starving with herbal medicine; her husband, Jose, who helps her move makeshift hospitals from cave to cave; Silvia, an orphaned girl who escapes a slave camp so that she may learn from Rosa; and Lieutenant Death, a hardened boy who grows up wanting only to kill Rosa and all others like her. Stretching from 1850 to 1899, these poems convey the fierce desire of the Cuban people to be free.

2 comments:

Little Willow said...

Thank you for linking to my blog. I'm flattered!

Coincidentally, I posted Versos Sencillos at my blog just this morning in honor of Poetry Friday.

Anonymous said...

I found this work to be very strong. Just finished it last night!

Lorie Ann Grover ~readergirlz diva/verse novelist