Solitary Impressions

About the Book

The initial inception for crafting this novella germinated twenty-three years ago. I wanted to devise a type of autobiography underscoring certain experiences in my life, referencing Puerto Rico as the backdrop for its creation. While exploring and searching for my personal ensimismamiento (search within), I adhere to the literary “flow of consciousness” technique in my prose for ruminating on life’s meaning, interconnecting my individual and global perspectives. My discourse is derived from my respective perceptions and academic training along with knowledge gained from my travels to Latin America and Europe. For me, writing and speculating on life can be encapsulated at specific and well-defined moments. In the summer of 2014, I remember sitting with my wife at a shaded table drinking café con leche inside the 18th century courtyard of Plaza Mayor in Salamanca, Spain. There, I opened my journal and composed one of a series of poems in Spanish during our seven day sojourn in this illustrious World Heritage City. Free verse and stream of consciousness represent the modes of communication for expressing the thoughts I choose to explore. Here, I define my place as a quasi-philosopher in the silent contemplation of ideas recorded simply with papier et stylo (paper and pen).

About the Author

The initial inception for writing this novella germinated 23 years ago after desiring to compose a type of autobiography underscoring certain experiences in my life referencing Puerto Rico, where I grew up, as the backdrop for its creation. While exploring and searching for my personal ensimismamiento (search within), I adhere to the literary “flow of consciousness” technique in my prose for ruminating on life’s meaning, interconnecting my individual and global perspectives. My divagations are extrapolated from my personal perceptions and academic training at the university level along with my numerous travels to Latin America and Europe. For me writing and speculating on life can be encapsulated at specific and well-defined moments, when, for example, I sat with my wife Jan in the summer of 2014 at a shaded table inside the 18th century courtyard of the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca, Spain drinking un café con leche at one of the many outdoor cafés. There, I opened my journal and composed one of a series of poems in Spanish during our seven day sojourn in this illustrious World heritage city. For me, free verse and flow of consciousness represent the modes of communication and thought I choose to explore and refine for defining my place as a quasi-philosopher in the silent contemplation of ideas recorded simply with un papier and stylo (paper and pen).