Cruel April 2025
Diana Marie Delgado, Point of Contact’s featured poet in 2025, read at a special edition of the annual Cruel April Poetry Series commemorating POC’s 50th Anniversary. Her poetry inspired a series of artist books by creators Juan Juárez, Joseph Kugielsky, Maritza Bautista, and Matías Roth. A fifth book, created by artist Pedro Roth with text by José Sanjinés, drew inspiration from Julio Cortázar’s Cinco Sonetos Eróticos, particularly the Zipper Sonnet, which appeared in a 1978 edition of Point of Contact during its formative years.
An unforgettable night marked the launch of Point of Contact’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Cruel April 2025 pays tribute to five decades of creative dialogue across cultures and disciplines. This 90-second video montage features highlights from the evening, including a powerful reading of “Last Dream” by poet Diana Marie Delgado, and glimpses of the stunning artist books inspired by her work.
Diana Marie Delgado’s poetry reading took place against the backdrop of the SU Art Museum’s exhibit by Joiri Minaya, Unseeing the Tropics, curated by Dr. Cristina Pardo Porto. This program was possible thanks to the support of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Syracuse University, the SU Humanities Center, the Latino Latin American Studies Program, Centro de Estudios Hispánicos, and LitNYS.