Praise for Quinta necesidad
Quinta necesidad reflects Rosabal Pérez’s view of poetry as a journey of self-discovery, in which the protagonist grows in self-awareness against the backdrop of the political, historical, and cultural landscape of Cuba. The first part of the book juxtaposes Western mythology and indigenous themes, while the second part turns to intimate reflections on the everyday, but both yield a contemplative vision of the fragility of existence and the necessity for human connection.
—Alan Bruflat, Spanish Professor at Wayne State College
Iliana Rosabal-Pérez sabe del poder de la palabra: la malcría y la somete, la esparce y la remoza. La poesía de Quinta necesidad llega impetuosa sobre la entelequia del lector, coquetea con ella, la sacude. Es inevitable regresar al verso, escudriñar cada una de sus palabras. El lector puede identificarse o cuestionar, deleitarse o sentirse interpelado. Ese es uno de los méritos de este poemario, gestar ese momentum donde el alma se desgarra y sufre, se sublima y alza vuelo porque “a la vida marchan todos”, marchamos todos. La voz que cobra albor en estos versos transmuta lo íntimo, lo infraordinario en parte de una sinfonía universal. Les invito a afinar el oído de nuestros ojos.
Iliana Rosabal-Pérez knows the power of the word: she indulges it and subdues it, spreads it and rejuvenates it. The poetry of Quinta Necesidad (Fifth Necessity) arrives impetuously in the imagination of the reader, flirting and shaking it. One inevitably returns to the verse, scrutinizing each of her words. The reader can identify with it or question, delight or feel challenged. That is one of the merits of this collection of poems: it spawns that momentum where the soul is torn apart and suffers, sublimates and takes flight because “to life all march,” we all march. The voice that rises in these verses transfigures the intimate, the infraordinary into part of a universal symphony. I invite you to listen with your eyes.
—Julio Antonio “Jago” Molinete, Cuban American poet, and researcher
Con Quinta necesidad, el tercer poemario de Iliana Rosabal-Pérez, se plasma una travesía escritural que —por relativamente reciente— no deja de ser renovadora en su quehacer con el verso. Las claves de la poeta se evidencian desde los primeros textos. Este sondeo, de concentrada fuerza y gran capacidad de laboreo con lo expresivo, no nos deja indiferentes. Su compromiso con la palabra poetizada lleva en sí el impulso de un arte ya conquistado por esta voz-mujer, diferente y diferenciada, que con agudeza y oficio comunica, seduce y emociona. Su alta capacidad de indagación y su empeño revelador —amén de exactas analogías con la memoria— son posibles porque la poeta no puede ni quiere olvidar, porque todavía no se cansa el corazón. Esta es una escritura que se crea y asciende de manera cuasi performática, contigua a la visualidad. La poesía publicada ya no pertenece al autor, pero no hay que preocuparse. En la sola vida que tenemos, queda “levantarse y sonreír”, gozar la certidumbre de que la poesía nunca espera porque permanece y fluye. La poesía —como la luz— no conoce el miedo.
Fifth Necessity, Iliana Rosabal-Pérez’s third book of poetry, undertakes a scriptural voyage by a relatively recent voice conveying a fresh approach to the art. The poet’s key themes are revealed from the opening pages, and Rosabal-Pérez pushes the limits of expressivity in a way that thoroughly moves the reader. This voice-woman, different and differentiated, reveals a firm commitment to the power of poetry while skillfully engaging, seducing, and touching us at the deepest level. The book’s thirst for inquiry works alongside a prodigious memory and a still-yearning heart to make a quasi-performative writing, contiguous to visuality. This book no longer belongs to its author, but not to worry: as we live, we “stand up and smile” each day secure in the knowledge that poetry never waits because it remains and flows. Poetry, like light, knows no fear.
—Leon Estrada, Cuban poet, editor, and researcher
Iliana Rosabal-Pérez is a poet, essayist, and researcher born in Santiago de Cuba in 1970. She earned a degree in Hispanic Philology in 1993 and a master’s degree in Cuban and Caribbean Studies in 2004 from the Universidad de Oriente in Santiago de Cuba. She holds a double major in Spanish and Digital Film Production, with a minor in Communication Studies from Wayne State College. Iliana has published the poetry collections Escrituras del límite (Scriptures of the Limit, Santiago de Cuba, 2007) and Lluvia en las dunas (Rain on the Dunes, Houston, TX, 2019), as well as the artistic essay “Seven Sculptors of Santiago de Cuba” (Trinidad and Tobago, 2010). Currently, she is a Spanish Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Quinta necesidad / Fifth Necessity
Iliana Rosabal-Pérez
Translated by Liz Rose
Perfect Paperback: 84 pages
WSC Press (2025) $16
ISBN: 979-8-9892196-0-5
