19 pages • 38 minutes read
Martín EspadaOf the Threads that Connect the Stars
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Letter to My Father” by Martín Espada (2018)
This poem shares important themes with “Of the Threads.” In it, Espada mourns his father and considers his legacy—especially in terms of his ties to Puerto Rico. He remembers a childhood trip to Utuado where his father told him about his roots in the island and then draws attention to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria. He promises to return his father’s ashes to its mountains.
“Digging” by Seamus Heaney (1966)
The speaker in this poem contemplates his work and his lineage. He watches his father digging potatoes and thinks about his grandfather digging peat. He admires their strength and revels in his roots. The speaker, like the son in Espada’s poem, benefits from change and time. He is, in part, the product of his ancestor’s labor. He is a poet and will dig with a writer’s tool: a pen.
“Men” by Pablo Neruda, translated by Alfred Yankauer (2000)
Martín Espada has been compared to Pablo Neruda because they are “both accessible and versatile, writing poetry in which, as he so memorably puts it, ‘I pay homage, bear witness, act as an advocate, and tell secrets’” (Voigt, Benjamin. “Martín Espada 101.” 2018. Poetry Foundation). “Men” and “Of the Threads” both feature pointed social critique tied to identity and injustice. The “everyman” of Neruda and the generations of Espada’s family both catalog their surroundings and explore cycles of history.
Further Literary Resources
Acknowledged Legislator: Critical Essays on the Poetry of Martín Espada. Edited by Edward J. Carvalho (2014)
This collection of 13 essays looks at Espada’s life, offers analyses of primary themes in his poems, and calls for more critical attention and cultural appreciation of his work. The collection is divided into four main sections: an author profile, political resistance, labor advocacy and class concerns, and a selection of reviews and interviews.
“Of the Threads that Connect the Stars: Dante Di Stefano Reviews Martín Espada’s Vivas to Those Who Have Failed” by Dante Di Stefano (2016)
The poet Dante Di Stefano writes a review of the collection containing “Of the Threads that Connect the Stars” for Best American Poetry. The article provides context for the poem by discussing the two main focal points of the book: unknown or unsung heroes and Espada’s recently deceased father.
“Bearing Witness: The Poetry of Martín Espada” by J.D. Schraffenberger (2016)
This review for The Progressive highlights a few of Espada’s primary images: the red flag, working hands, and music. It also discusses the elegies like “Of the Threads” within Vivas to Those Who Have Failed by putting them into the context suggested by the book’s title: “[T]he various failures to be found in its pages: not only the social failure of racist violence and injustice, but the ultimate failure in death.” Schraffenberger says the book’s poems explore “how we move forward without giving into cynicism and despair.”
“Inside the Worlds of Latino Traveling Cultures: Martín Espada’s Poetry of Rebellion” by Santa Arias (1996)
This article in Bilingual Review / La Revista Bilingüe explores how the layered cultural identity of the poet and his subjects are manifested in his art. Arias further situates Espada’s poetry within the context of Nuyorican poets.
Listen to Poem
Martín Espada reads his poem at a 2017 event honoring the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition Down these Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography as part of a tribute to his father. A picture of Espada and his son, taken by his father, is projected on a screen behind the poet as he reads. After a brief note about the photograph, he introduces the poem by saying, “This next poem is about three generations: my father, me, and my son—and the changes that happen without our even realizing it.”
