"The publication by City Lights of Homero Aridjis, translated by George McWhirter is an event. This Mexican poet is not well known in English, but his work stands with that of Octavio Paz as one of the great poetries of Mexico. I read it with delight and was going to review it, but Laura took it and fell in love with it. She read it every night, a poem at the time, and said that she'd give to everyone for Christmas. Great, except she kept it with her books, and I didn’t retrieve it until I got the message below from Stacey Lewis at City Lights Books, the publisher:

'With the recent announcement that Mexico will dismantle its delegation to UNESCO--the United Nations branch dedicated to preserving cultural heritage and human rights--due to budget shortages, and daily reports of violence plaguing the country’s reputation, Homero Aridjis’s newest collection of poetry, Solar Poems, comes at a vital time.'"

"Mexico will cease to have permanent representation at UNESCO in Paris and will conclude its work. The office, currently directed by Homero Aridjis was created to serve as a liaison in matters of education, culture and science.

The closing of Mexico´s UNESCO office is a deplorable act, a blow against Mexican culture, its international reputation, and the leadership role it should provide for Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, the poet Homero Aridjis states.

In an interview by email, Aridjis, the Mexican Ambassador to UNESCO, analyses the impact of this decision which they have not, as yet, been notified of."