Cartas a Karina (English and Spanish Edition) - Softcover

Oscar Lopez Rivera

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0692754393 ISBN 13: 9780692754399

Publisher: Cartas a Karina Project, 2016

Synopsis

In 2013 Oscar López Rivera began writing to his granddaughter Karina the series that would come to be known as Cartas a Karina. These are the letters of a man imprisoned for the crime of seditious conspiracy, the thought crime of wanting to see Puerto Rico free of foreign domination the same kind of charge railed at Gandhi and Mandela. He has maintained his political vision and humanity despite 35 years of dehumanizing imprisonment, and is widely regarded as the Mandela of Puerto Rico. López Rivera is a prolific writer as well as an accomplished and respected painter, a vocation begun during twelve years of solitary confinement. The compelling content, language, and often lyric quality of Cartas a Karina make this bilingual collection an indispensable reflection on Puerto Rico s status, the plight of the Puerto Rican diaspora, and the dehumanizing conditions behind US prison walls. Most of all, Cartas a Karina stands as an eloquent and irrefutable argument for Oscar López Rivera s immediate and unconditional release.

About this title

About the Author

Oscar López Rivera is a Puerto Rican political prisoner held 35 years in U.S. prisons. Born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico in 1943, he is a Bronze-star decorated Vietnam Veteran, a father, and grandfather. He is one of the longest-held political prisoners on the planet today.

Review

For Puerto Ricans across the political spectrum and from all walks of life, the freedom of Oscar Lopez Rivera is an urgent political priority. However, this beautiful book of letters from Oscar to his granddaughter Karina, much like our own feelings for Oscar, goes far beyond simply politics. Like Oscar s obvious love for Karina, so too do we love Oscar s dedication to justice - just as we love La Isla itself. --Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker, New York City Council

Letters to Karina belongs on the same shelf as Night, Gulag Archipelago, and Long Walk to Freedom. With his life and his writing, Oscar López Rivera accomplishes a dual miracle...he reminds the most powerful nation on earth of its own founding principles; and he shows us all how to be fully human, in an increasingly inhumane world. --Nelson Nelson Denis, author of War Against All Puerto Ricans

Las Cartas a Karina, de nuestro Oscar López Rivera a su nieta, representan una ventana que nos permite conocer la voz y el pensamiento de un verdadero revolucionario. Oscar aspira a un mundo mejor a través del amor y ha pagado un precio sumamente alto por su compromiso. Se trata de un testimonio vivo de la lucha por la justicia y la descolonización de nuestro pueblo que cuenta con páginas brillantes sobre los abusos que ha padecido en las cárceles, su solidaridad con Nelson Mandela, su vegetarianismo y otros temas que todas y todos los puertorriqueños y latinos debemos conocer y valorar. --Orlando José Hernández, escritor, traductor, crítico y professor, Hostos Community College-CUNY

Edition details

• Publisher: Cartas a Karina Project
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0692754393
• ISBN 13: 9780692754399
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 212
• Editor: Mariana Mcdonald, Fernando Cabanillas, Matt Meyer, Ana M. Lopez, L. Alejandro Molina
• Illustrator: Oscar Lopez Rivera