“To talk about poetry you have to be brief and say first that poetry cannot be explained, Isla Negra is poet Elsa Cross’s look at the past and present in the search of the inner light to find oneself,” said Braulio Peralta when announcing the winning work of the Mazatlán Literature Prize 2024.
“Cirila, Atenea, María Sabina, 68, The Wind on the Island, by Pablo Neruda, La Locura Divina, are some of the references in this diverse book (Isla Negra) where Elsa returns to other books of her work where the beginning “knowing oneself is the main cause,” Braulio Peralta, a member of the jury, said by telephone.
The name of the winning book was announced at a press conference called by the Instituto de Cultura, Turismo y Arte de Mazatlán chaired by Raúl Rico González, Director of the paramunicipal; writer Juan José Rodríguez and Esteban Peraza.
On behalf of the jury, Braulio Peralta, National Journalism Prize winner Fernando Benítez, was in charge of announcing Elsa Cross as the winner of the Mazatlán Literature Prize 2024 and literally expressed the following:
“Isla Negra wants to be a possible response to a lived and full life, it does not pretend to give lessons, it offers clues to the ancestral years, it is not gratuitous that Elsa Cross is a philosopher and poet who tries to decipher the profane and divine order in places where traces of faith are notorious, they are mortuary, they are riddles, they are words that haunt a mind, a restless flame.”
Raúl Rico González, General Director of CULTURA, said that he was pleased when he found out that the jury had selected a poetry book and that he was a little doubtful since it would be the fourth time that a poetry book has been awarded in the history of the Mazatlán Prize of Literature, and three great poets have been awarded: José Gorostiza, for “Poesía” (1965); Jaime Sabines for “Pieces of shadow” – Selected Poems- (1996); “Zoology Album” by José Emilio Pacheco (1999) and now, “Isla Negra” by Elsa Cross, who is not a minor figure since she is a very important character in literature.
Elsa Cross stated via telephone that she felt very satisfied and she felt very honored to receive this award and that it really was a total surprise.
She highlighted that Pablo Neruda is the main reason for her work.
Elsa Cross (Mexico, 1946) is a poet, essayist and translator. Her Complete Poetry (1964-2012) encompasses numerous titles, six of which received major awards. Books of her poetry have appeared in eight countries. She is a teacher and doctor in Philosophy from the UNAM, where she is a full professor of Philosophy of Religion and where she has published several books of essays and translations.
