Naugatuck Valley Community College students, faculty and staff packed a reconfigured Playbox Theater on October 5 for a special night of poetry to mark Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), at the first Confluencia of the academic year. Celebrating its seventh year, the Confluencia series continues to inspire, enrich and introduce the power of poetry to the community.

NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D. began the evening on a somber note by remembering victims of the Perejil Genocide with a poem titled Haiti by Dominican writer Sherezada (Chiqui) Vicioso. It was 78 years to the day that more than 20,000 Haitian civilians were killed at the Masacre River in the frontier of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Student Government Association President Katherine Abreu offered greetings from the SGA and Confluencia Coordinator Marianela Medrano, Ph.D. welcomed the audience and introduced the many talented poets and writers who participated in the “open mic” session. Readings ranged from deep, intense works raw with emotion to lighthearted prose.

The three invited guests poets then read from their works:

Annecy Baez is a Dominican writer and psychotherapist living in New York. She is the author of My Daughter’s Eyes and Other Stories, winner of the Curbstone Press 2007 Mármol Prize. She is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Social Work Practice at Touro College Graduate School of Social Work. Her literary work appeared in Callaloo (2000) and Riverine: An Anthology of Hudson Valley Writers (Codhill Press, 2008) among others.

Javier Campos is a Chilean writer and professor of Latin American Literature at Fairfield University in Connecticut. He is a regular columnist for El Mostrador, a Latin American newspaper and also writes for Sociedad & Conocimiento, a magazine from the Department of Economy at the Universidad Central de Chile. He has participated in several International Poetry Festivals throughout Latin América, including Nicaragua, El Salvador and Cuba.

Claribel Díaz lives in New York and is a Dominican writer and psychotherapist. Her writings include, Consideraciones psicodinámicas acerca de la delincuencia, (Hermeneias del Psicoanálisis Editorial, 1987) and the poetry collections: Ser del Silencio/Being of Silence, (Essential Icon Press, 2003) and Órbita de la Inquietud, (Obsidiana Press, 2010). Her literary work has appeared in numerous journals such as Revista TRAZOS, New York, 2014.

The readings were followed by a brief question-and-answer session and concluding remarks by President De Filippis.

Held four times per academic year, Confluencia was established in October 2008 by President De Filippis, who was appointed in July of that year. “It is a way to honor talented writers and all they have achieved in their life’s work and a way to share their personal experiences with others,” De Filippis said. “The literal meaning of the title ─ a coming or flowing together, meeting or gathering at one point ─ describes what we envision when our community becomes part of the excitement on our campus. It is an opportunity for the College to affirm the centrality of community in all that we do and to underscore our intent to remain an essential part of the literary heart of the region.”

Since its inception, Confluencia has been organized and moderated by Dr. Medrano. A Dominican writer and professional counselor, Medrano offers workshops and readings in Connecticut and around the country. She has published six books of poetry including her most recent two, Diosas de la Yuca/Goddesses of the Yuca (2011) and Prietica (2013).