Journalist Carmelo Rivero Ferrera Publishes First Poetry Collection in 50 Years

Carmelo Rivero Ferrera, a journalist from the Canary Islands who won the Canary Islands Communication Prize in 2004, has just released his first collection of poems. The book, titled Como miran los mares. Teoría del redoble de cortejos, is published by the Center for Canarian Popular Culture and the Cabildo de Tenerife. This is a big moment because it's the first time Rivero Ferrera has published his own poetry in over 50 years, according to Diario de Avisos. His brother, Martín Rivero Ferrera, also a journalist, passed away in 2023.

The story behind this book is as unusual as the long wait for its publication. The collection is split into two parts: one features poems written in 1995 that were thought to be lost for nearly 30 years before being found again, and the other, called "Belvedere," contains his more recent work. This mix of old and new poems, illustrated by Juan Luis Calero, creates a conversation between the author's past and present poetic voices.

Even though he didn't publish, Rivero Ferrera has been writing poetry consistently since he was a child. His first poem, a sonnet about Taganana, was published in the newspaper La Tarde when he was just twelve. However, he stopped publishing because he disagreed with the poetry styles of the 1970s, which he found too unclear and complicated. This led to a dramatic act in 1973. After being a finalist for the Julio Tovar Prize (which was won by Félix Francisco Casanova, whose clear style Rivero Ferrera admired), he destroyed his own collection of poems. This showed his commitment to a more straightforward, yet still profound, kind of poetry.

For Rivero Ferrera, journalism and literature are "opposite" fields, almost like two different parts of his identity. Journalism requires clarity and conciseness, but writing literature, especially poetry, comes from different urges. For him, poetry is an "essential need" that he has privately nurtured throughout his life.

The themes in Como miran los mares show deep concerns about life and society. The author explores freedom and its loss, and the danger of political extremism – a worry that grew from his experiences during the final years of the Franco dictatorship and his involvement with the underground opposition. He also addresses ongoing armed conflicts, which appear in "Belvedere" through his thoughts on the war in Ukraine and the risk of it spreading globally, influenced by writers like T. S. Eliot. Additionally, the book covers spirituality, different forms of love, and constant self-reflection on what it means to be human, big philosophical questions, and the search for happiness.

Rivero Ferrera describes himself, with a mix of humor and honesty, as a "poetastantista." He uses this term for people who write poetry out of an inner need, outside of professional or academic circles. He doesn't see himself as part of a "guild" of poets, but rather as a creator who practices his calling in private.

His decision to publish now, after decades of writing in secret, comes from thinking about time passing and the responsibility to bring his creations to life. The author sees publishing as a way to "complete the cycle" of his work, preventing what he calls a "literaticide" – texts that would otherwise remain unknown. While he doesn't promise more publications, this first public release in over fifty years is a strong statement about his poetic journey.