Las Antillas Letradas

ON A RECENT trip to Puerto Rico, Robert Hill, a professor at UCLA, chanced upon an artwork by Antonio Martorell on display in the Museo de Arte at the Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey.  It was a mural entitled Las Antillas Letradas, and was composed of portraits of some of the region's authors layered over maps and fragments of text to form a literary A-Z—28 portraits in all to reflect a bygone Spanish alphabet.

And there in the mural, taking his place among the English, French, Spanish, and Dutch Caribbean writers—the "W" in his last name representing that section of the alphabet and the poem "Bread" as backdrop—was Kamau. Professor Hill took a snapshot and emailed it to him: “Last week I was in Puerto Rico and saw this portrait of you...I appreciated it and want to share it with you. Enjoy!”

Kamau, aware that we were collecting photos and art images for this special issue, sent the photo to ArtsEtc—“the only painted portrait of KB i know. . . <<..>>,” he added.

We contacted Professor Hill, who put us in touch with the Museo de Arte, who put us in touch with the artist who sent us the image proper and site links to Princeton University, where the first print of Las Antillas is now housed. You can view the full mural here.

The connectivity that Kamau provokes and inspires, the webs and threads and stories. Namsetoura at work/play?

The Editors

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Antonio Martorell is a multi-artist from Puerto Rico.  The above detail is from Las Antillas Letradas, 2013, mural, 4’ 4” x 9’ (woodcut and digital impression on papel, 30 prints).