Lo coloro de lo incoloro His first book of Spanish poetry published in the United States –
Lo coloro de lo incoloro (
The color of the colorless) - won the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize competition in 1979-1980. The book was published by the
University of California, Irvine in 1981.
Cuestión de hombres The Latino Press (CUNY) published
Cuestión de hombres (
A Matter of Men) in 1996.
Cartas a la sombra de tu piel Cartas a la sombra de tu piel (
Letters to the shadow of your skin) was published in Mexico in 2002 and it received the Voces Selectas award. Dr. Paulette Ramsey, of the
University of the West Indies, wrote an article on this collection of poems in the
Caribbean Quarterly, saying: “The poems and prose pieces in each section portray a world that is vibrant, charged with life, vivid images of lovers in warm embraces, feelings of nostalgia, reminiscences on past erotic experiences and anxious anticipation of future ones. ... Bilingualism functions as an important rhetorical strategy and is demonstrated in different ways. Some poems are written in English entirely but most are in Spanish. ... This switching between linguistic modes is dominant in poems in which the poet advocates a ready acceptance and tolerance of difference – suggesting that sexuality is not limited to heterosexuality, in the same way that the same emotion can be communicated in different languages. ... Cartas a la sombra de tu piel is an intriguing addition to Spanish Caribbean poetry in general and specifically to the area of queer theory, a contemporary approach to literature and culture which developed out of gay and lesbian criticism, and regards sexual identities as fluid. It should provide interesting reading and generate much discussion."
Elegías de septiembre Elegías de septiembre (
September Elegies) is a book of poetry first published in 2003. The Mexican critic, Estela Porter Seale, characterized the book as follows: "This work could be described as a thesis condemning optimistic rationalism [that believes] “ours is the best of all possible worlds”, advocating against all forms of extreme individualism that diminish the possibility of a harmonious coexistence with all things...." [From the Prologue by Estela Porter Seale in Pastoriza Iyodo, Benito.
Elegías de septiembre. Editorial Tierra Firme, Mexico City, 2003, pp 5-9.] In his review of the bilingual edition of the book, Rick Villalobo's review in Críticas Magazine (Library Journal) adds: "Pastoriza Iyodo's observations are unrestrained, brooding over themes like poverty, war, nature and the unpredictable design of humanity. The poem "What Was All That About" exemplifies his open temperament, as when he writes "because the poverty of the spirit / because the poverty of the penny / did not arrive gratuitously / so easily someone must have invented it."
Nena, nena de mi corazón Nena, nena de mi corazón (
Beloved, beloved of my heart), published in 2006, is a collection of 16 short stories. As opposed to
Cuestión de hombres (
A Matter of Men), where each story had a male protagonist, Nena features female characters in tales of relationships, hardships, and displacement. According to the review by Liliana Wendorff (University of North Carolina at Pembroke), which was published by Críticas Magazine (part of Library Journal): “The 16 parts, … are presented in the form of vignettes, epistles, chronicles, or commentaries. In spite of major hardships, the characters keep on searching for a better life in places that seem indifferent and even hostile. Women are central to these tales. … This work questions the motives that lead people to abandon their homelands and underlines the resiliency of those who migrate to foreign lands in order to fulfill their dreams.”
El agua del paraíso El agua del paraíso (
The Waters of Paradise) is Benito Pastoriza Iyodo's first novel. The author weaves a story of four generations of women by intertwining their histories, local legend and the adversities they face. Set in the tropics, with its rivers, its waterfalls and the sea, the presentation of the tale draws the reader into the cinematic pace of the book. === Prostíbulo de la palabra = Brothel of the Word ===
Prostíbulo de la palabra, published in 2012, is the author's fourth book of poetry in Spanish. This first edition includes the English translation of the collection (
Brothel of the Word) along with notes in bilingual format. As the title implies, the term "brothel" goes beyond the world associated with the sexual act.
Hominis Aurora Hominis Aurora is a bilingual collection of poems published by Flowersong Press in 2021. Bradley Warren Davis translated the poems into English. == Other publications ==