Not every poet is persecuted by his own government — but Homero Aridjis' environmental activities have made him unpopular with Mexican authorities, causing restrictions on the circulation of his work. Ironically, Aridjis has served in ambassadorial posts representing Mexico in both Switzerland and The Hague.
"We have been blacklisted by the Mexican government," Aridjis said by phone from his home in Mexico City. "Our phone is out of order a number of days every week. We feel isolated. Our conversations are tapped. Bodyguards were assigned both to protect us and to spy on us. We couldn't tell the difference between the government and organized crime. We have to be careful because we never know where we stand."
Often referred to as the poet of the Spanish language, Aridjis has written 30 books, consisting of a mixture of lyrical poems about the Huichol Indians, the environment and nature. He has said: "Ecology is poetry. Nature and poetry are closely linked. I defend water, soil, trees, animal life by making them the central issues of my poems."
His most recent poetry collection to be published in the United States is "Eyes to See Otherwise."
Aridjis, 65, recalled a serious accident he suffered as an 11-year-old boy playing soccer. He spent 19 days in the hospital. "I almost died. When my father brought books to the hospital, I discovered reading. I read Dickens, Shakespeare and Dante in Spanish. Afterwards, I began to write. It was like coming back from death. Poetry became like a second life and every day was a special gift — a miracle — to me."
Aridjis said he now vigorously "defends the right to exist to all species." Yet he writes with great diversity and considers himself "open to all kinds of experiences." He has major concerns with "the future of the megacity," especially with regard to pollution. "Walking the streets you feel you will die because of the polluted air.
"One day, with my wife, Betty, we published a manifesto against pollution in Mexico City. It is the movement of ecological conscience in the country. Pollution is affecting the health of millions of people."
Aridjis and his associates are also defending the forests, migratory animals, the Monarch butterfly, sea otters in the Pacific and gray whales that come from the Arctic to spend the winter in Mexico. Unfortunately, his environmental activities have resulted in a number of death threats directed at both him and his wife.
He continues to write in Spanish, not English. "The important thing for a writer is to know very well your own language. I want to be a very good writer in Spanish. I work every day. I write novels also — but poetry is electrically charged. It's like an act of love. If I'm walking or flying or find myself in unexpected situations, an idea may come to me. It appears when it wants to. Each poem is like a revelation. "
Often, Aridjis reads his newly written poems to himself, "out loud — to see if it is fluent, intense, and if the lines are too long. I want it to sing, so it can't have too many words. Must be to the point.
"I'm writing a story now — about sea turtles. It's difficult to write about a species. Last week we went to the coast to see the arrival of thousands of sea turtles who came to lay their eggs on Mexican beaches. Poachers go after them and destroy their nests. We got to the beach at 1 a.m. and stayed until 6 a.m. We witnessed the birth of 200,000 sea turtles."
If you go
What: "An Evening of Conscience," Homero Aridjis, Terry Tempest Williams, Sabastion Salgado
Where: Kingsbury Hall, University of Utah
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
How much: $30 adults, $20 students
Phone: 581-7100
Web: www.hum.utah.edu
E-mail: dennis@desnews.com