Duende de Burque - (The Albuquerque Poet Laureate) by Manuel González (Paperback)

About the Book

At its center, Duende de Burque is a love letter to Alburquerque and its surroundings--the Sandia Mountains, the Rio Grande Bosque, and all the people whose spirits fill these spaces.

Book Synopsis

At its center, Duende de Burque is a love letter to Alburquerque and its surroundings--the Sandia Mountains, the Rio Grande Bosque, and all the people whose spirits fill these spaces. It is an exploration of one poet's search for duende, that elusive state of spontaneous expression and authenticity. With a debut in local poetry slam, Manuel González has honed his craft on the stage and on the page for the past twenty years. He has represented Burque several times on the national slam scene, hosted countless slams for people of all ages, and worked to help adults and youths discover the power of self-expression. In this collection, González writes about his beginnings as a poet and his work as the third Albuquerque Poet Laureate. He writes about what inspires him and how he works to inspire others and to craft poems that do the same. In his core is Burque--his heart, his sangre, and the home of his ancestors.

Review Quotes

"González's beloved Albuquerque reads as a poem, and the soul of a poet merges with the joys, pain, struggles, and healing of a people. An instant classic."--Matt Sedillo, author of Mowing Leaves of Grass and literary director of the dA Center for the Arts

"Manny is sharing more than trade secrets when it comes to being this city's Poet Laureate. In this collection, you get equal parts 'the joys of the job' and 'the job of the joy.'"--Hakim Bellamy, Inaugural Albuquerque Poet Laureate and author of Swear

"Manuel González's poet-duende swaggers through the Burque streets, orgullosamente, con honor y respeto. His duende loco is proud, honoring, and respectful. But González's duende also speaks in parables of poetic hard-truths that prompt us to think, feel, muse, and ask questions about ourselves and the worlds we inhabit."--Levi Romero, Inaugural New Mexico Poet Laureate and author of A Poetry of Remembrance: New and Rejected Works

"Many of the poems in Duende de Burque are odes and homages to Albuquerque and New Mexico, and many of them rhyme, with the driving, irregular beats of hip-hop. González writes of religion and spiritual seeking as he entertains and impresses within the carnival of poetry competition. And then he ushers us into a hushed hall, where he uses all the same skills for a moment of grace."--Jennifer Levin, Santa Fe New Mexican