Dominican writer and photographer Amarilis Cueto unveils her first poetry collection

Santo Domingo.- Renowned Dominican writer and photographer Amarilis Cueto will present her debut poetry collection, Caleidoscopio en sepia, today at the Centro Cultural de España, located at Arzobispo Meriño, Ciudad Colonial, Santo Domingo.

The event, set to begin at 7:00 p.m., is expected to draw a wide range of prominent figures from the country’s arts and literary scene, including 2010 National Literature Award winner Mateo Morrison, along with poets Leopoldo Minaya, Denisse Español and María Elena De Rojas.

The evening will be hosted by Scarlet Sánchez, a young writer and member of the Taller Literario de Narradores de Santo Domingo. Several speakers, including poet Mateo Morrison, Denisse Español and José Manuel Méndez Cabrera, are scheduled to share their thoughts on Cueto’s new book.

The official presentation of Caleidoscopio en sepia will be delivered by writer and editor Rafael J. Rodríguez Pérez, president of Río de Oro Editores, the publishing house responsible for the release. Rodríguez, who has prepared a special text for the occasion titled Caleidoscopio en sepia: el arte de refractar la luz de la poesía, expressed his pride in adding Cueto’s debut poetry work to the Cierva Blanca Collection, dedicated exclusively to poetry.

Rodríguez also noted that Caleidoscopio en sepia had already been introduced in Spain, where both Cueto and Laura García de Lucas, the book’s preface writer, participated in the presentation.

The event will conclude with a poetry reading featuring several contributors, followed by a thank-you speech from the author herself. Caleidoscopio en sepia is divided into four sections and comprises seventy-nine poems, alongside numerous artistic photographs taken by Cueto.

This presentation marks the final event in a busy month for Río de Oro Editores at the Centro Cultural de España, capping off a series of book launches that included Noling, el gorrión chino by Clara Sánchez and Flotando sobre las cañas by Frank García.

Amarilis Cueto, born in San Pedro de Macorís in 1963, has an extensive background in literature and photography. She studied economics at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo and earned a master’s degree in management from INTEC.

She is part of the short story anthology Escribir sobre una ola, featuring award-winning works from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, as well as the anthology Quinta dosis, by the Taller de Narradores de Santo Domingo. Her works have also been included in the winning publications of the Juan Pablo Duarte Art and Literature Contest organized by the Central Bank, where she has received several awards in the categories of short story and photography.

After retiring from the Central Bank in 2012, she pursued numerous literary courses and workshops. Cueto has published two story collections, El despertar de Ogún and Póthos y otros relatos. Caleidoscopio en sepia is her first poetry collection.