The Dominican Republic’s Minister of Culture, Eduardo Selman, announced earlier this month that the internationalization of important works of Dominican literature had begun with the first volume of 15 works in digital edition. Nota Clave reports:

[. . .] This launch was made possible by the contribution of República Digital [Digital Republic] an incentive driven by the government of the President of the Republic, Danilo Medina. Selman delivered the announcement during the presentation of several editions of the National Publisher [Editora Nacional] during a ceremony held on Sunday, May 5, at the Casas Reales Museum, during the recently held International Book Fair 2019 [. . .].

The official said that the digitalization will enable the internationalization of major works by Dominican writers and that the Dominican Republic will be able to overcome the literary isolation it has had due to several factors, including measures imposed by the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina.

“We are entering the Digital Era in a big way,” said Selman, explaining that the books will be available so they can be viewed on tablets, mobile phones, and personal computers, in addition to a special version of audiobooks for people with visual impairments so they may experience the emotion contained in the literary works.

The Ministry of Culture, through the National Publisher, has begun the project of the Dominican Basic Library [Biblioteca Dominicana Básica (BDB)], which includes those considered as the top 100 Dominican works. This project began in 2016 and has already published 20 titles in various genres: poetry, fiction, and essay.

Among the books included in that basic library are three volumes by Juan Bosch: Cuentos escritos antes del exilio, Cuentos escritos en el exilio, Más cuentos escritos en el exilio (this tome includes Apuntes sobre el arte de escribir cuentos). Other volumes include Baní o Engracia y Antoñito, by Francisco Gregorio Billini; Invitación a la lectura, by Camila Henríquez Ureña; Over, by Ramón Marrero Aristy; and Siempre mis aguas tendrán rumores, by Salomé Ureña.

Works by Dominican authors that have been reedited are El derrumbe, by Federico García Godoy; Presencia de los frutos, by Juan Sánchez Lamouth; El sembrador de voces, by Franklin Mieses Burgos; Crepúsculo perplejo, by Manuel Zacarías Espinal; La sangre, by Tulio Manuel Cestero; Palabras sin tiempo, by Domingo Moreno Jiménez.

Moreover, there are the following: Textos escogidos, by Virgilio Díaz Grullón; Material del amor, by Manuel Rueda; Yerbas bajo las piedras, by Héctor Incháustegui Cabral; Décimas de siempre, by Juan Antonio Alix; Poemas y narraciones, by Tomás Hernández Franco; Cosas añejas, by César Nicolás Penson; Ideas del valor de la isla española, by Antonio Sánchez Valverde.

The prologue to the works, in order of the editions, were written by the late Pura Emeterio, Manuel García Cartagena, Federico Henríquez y Gratereaux, León David, Manuel Mora Serrano, Pedro Vergés, José Alcántara Almánzar, Fernando Cabrera, Marcio Veloz Maggiolo, José Enrique Delmonte, Manuel Núñez, Bruno Rosario Candelier, Eduardo Selman, Olivier Batista, and Consuelo Triviño

The books can be downloaded through the Ministry of Culture’s page. They are also on sale at bookstores like Cuesta, La Trinitaria, Mamey, and Editora. In addition, they have been distributed to various institutions and centers throughout the country.

[Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. For the original article (in Spanish) and photo of Juan Bosch (above), see https://notaclave.com/ministro-de-cultura-anuncia-inicio-de-la-digitalizacion-de-obras-literarias-de-autores-dominicanos/]