IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 8 ENGLISH | Page 123

ince is much more authentic and communicates better with the reader than
the literature written by the group of
Havana. Somehow they have forgotten
their readers.
NP: Has it been easy for you to gestate your literary work? How and
where do you write?
LA: For me it is not hard to write. I
write in my mind, I hold it and when I
can sit at a computer I am simply translating what’s in my mind. Of course the
written piece requires a review and as a
writer I am hardly ever satisfied with
what I have done. Since I have neither a
computer nor the possibility of acquiring one, I write as I can. I wrote much
in the Young Club for Computing at my
hometown, but it is not the best environment. You have people playing
everywhere and it’s difficult to focus.
There is no room to lock you up with
your inner voice, but at least I have
some ability to concentrate. That’s how
I am gestating my work.
NP: How was your experience at the
Literary Training Center Onelio
Jorge Cardoso? Was it worthy to pass
the course in 2003?
LA: The center did somehow what
Salvador Redonet had done: to take the
last pieces that practically nobody knew
in order to publish them in an anthology
that is like a debut. Previously invisible
authors came thusly into existence.

That happens a little with us; when you
enter the center, you have already some
recognition, because entering means
that you're a writer in some way, according to the opinion of the evaluation
panel, even without being published.
Among those who came with me, some
had already published, but very bad
literature, while other unpublished were
much more talented. At the end, the
publication does not necessarily have to
do with talent or ability as a writer. It
was good to know different people,
their realities and their ways of writing
and thinking. I was with a very good
group that brought me a lot. I'll never
forget that experience.

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