Rescuing the Legacy of James Stanley Gilbert,
American poet, first poet of Colón
A Research Proposal to the Cultural Section of the American Embassy in the
Republic of Panama.
1) General Information.
Name of the Project:
Rescuing the Legacy of James Stanley Gilbert,
American poet, first poet of Colón
Type of Project:
Cultural (Literary research and diffusion)
Proposers:
Rita Wong, M.A.; Winston Churchill James, B.Sc.
and Luis Wong Vega, Ph.D.
Timeframe for execution:
Twelve (12) months.
Budget:
Eight Thousand Five Hundred and Fifty USD
Proposed sponsor:
USA Embassy in Panama (Cultural Section)
2) Executive Summary:
An American poet, James Stanley Gilbert, lived and died in Colon, Panama, during
the last years or the 19th century and the first years of the 20th century, witnessing
many important events in Panamanian history. His poetry reflects the life in these
surroundings and has a very significant historical and literary importance. Although,
his legacy in unknown to most Panamanians. We propose here a project aimed to
rescue his work, to translate it into Spanish and to conduct a series of promotional
activities around this poet. For this purpose, sponsorship from the Cultural Section
if the USA Embassy in Panama would be determinant.
3) Background.
As explained in an internet page (Annex 1): “…James Stanley Gilbert was one of
the few people to write about life in tropical Panama. He was born in Middletown,
Connecticut, and educated at the Skinner School in Chicago. After graduation he
worked as a cashier and bookkeeper. In 1886 he went to Panama and worked for
several years in the commissary department of the Panama Railroad Company at
Cristobal. He later became a partner in a steamship agency representing, among
others, the United Fruit Company. Gilbert was described by a British diplomat
friend as a 'man who lived lustily as men did in those times when life in the tropics
meant death hovering around the corner…Gilbert had begun to write poetry about
Panama while employed as shipping agent, and he continued to do so for the rest
of his life. From "Away down south in the Torrid Zone,' the first line of his first
poem, readers were captivated by Gilbert's vision of the tropical pre-canal Panama.
His poems in Panama Patchwork, the book in which "Beyond the Chagres"
appeared, were called 'documents of life on the Isthmus' by a New York Times
reviewer in 1906. His fans called him the 'poet laureate of the Isthmus of Panama
and compared him to Rudyard Kipling…”.
Even though Mr. Gilbert’s work seemed to have received much attention during the
first decades of the last century (Annex 2), his poems and his legacy are basically
unknown today within the Republic of Panama.
This is quite amazing since Mr. Gilbert depicted the life in Colón and Panamá
during a time where not many people in Panama cultivated the arts and during the
early years for the construction of the Panama Canal, therefore having a
tremendous testimonial significance, beyond its literary value.
His poetry was well known and praised in the US and in Panama. His book
“Panama Patchwork” was published several times after his death, well beyond the
1930’s (annex 3).
During the preparation of the book “Antología de Poesía Colonense
Contemporánea” (Contemporary Poetry from Colón, in press) we found out that
Mr. Gilbert was, much probably, the first Poet that lived and wrote in Colón, ever.
This would not only make him the first American poet in Colón but also the first
poet from Colón, considering that he wrote his poems about Panama and Colón
and that he lived and died in this city.
We have faced enormous problems to get accurate and detailed information about
James Stanley Gilbert. Many of the editions of Gilbert’s work are lost or not
accessible in Panama nowadays. “Panama´s Patchwork” is listed within the Cornell
University Library digital collection. Therefore, a trip to New York, to retrieve this
material and search the data base and the library itself for more information about
Mr. Gilbert is necessary.
We are interested in translating into Spanish all his poetry (Panama Patchwork)
and to prepare a book on his life and on his contribution to the literary arts in
Panama.
We have downloaded a copy in PDF format (Annex 4) of Mr. Gilbert’s poems book
“Panama´s Patchwork”, from the Cornell University Library. This is a free access
document and according to this Library, there are no Intellectual property issues
regarding its utilization for purposes such as the one being proposed here.
The copyright of the first edition of the book “Stanley Gilbert, poeta
norteamericano, primer poeta colonense” would belong to the US Embassy in
Panama Cultural section, who will own the whole amount of books printed and
would distribute them locally at its own discretion. On further editions, authors Rita
Wong, Winston Churchill James and Luis Wong Vega would jointly keep and
usufruct the authors rights.
4) Objectives:
4.1 General: To rescue the image and relevance of Stanley Gilbert, an American
who developed is poetry in Panama, becoming a link between both cultures and
nations.
4.2 Specific:
4.2.1 To gather information about James Stanly Gilbert, in order to write a
comprehensive essay about his persona and his literary work.
4.2.2 To translate his poems into Spanish and to publish them, extending the
knowledge about his work in contemporary Panama.
4.2.3 To promote a series of local activities (book launching, conferences, etc)
within Panama (especially in Colón) under the US Embassy sponsorship, around
the poetry of James Stanley Gilbert.
5) Action Plan. Calendar.
5.1 Coordination of activities with the US Embassy’s Cultural Section.
5.2 Search for information (requests to NY library, Cornell University Library, New
York Times archives; purchase of materials and documents).
5.3 Translation of J.S. Gilbert’s poetry.
5.4 Preparation of Essay on James Stanley Gilbert’s life and work.
5.5 Preparation and publishing of the book “Stanley Gilbert, poeta norteamericano,
primer poeta colonense” (including the first bilingual contemporary re-edition of
“Panama Patchwork”, translated into Spanish and an Essay on J.S. Gilbert)
5.6 Local promotional activities (volume presentation in Exedra Book; conference
on Stanley Gilbert’s work; participation in Panama’s Book Fair, etc).
Activity / Month
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
5.1
X
5.2
X
5.3
XXXXXXXXXXX
5.4
XXXXXX
5.5
5.6
XXXXX
XXXXXXX
6) Budget plan.
Line Item 1: Search for information (requests to NY library, Cornell University
Library, New York Times archives; purchase of materials and documents): USD
500.00
Line item 2: Translation of J.S. Gilbert’s poetry (rate 15 USD per page x 170
pages): USD 2550.00
Line item 3: Preparation of Essay (rate 10 USD per page X 50 pages): USD 500.00
Line item 4: Preparation and Publication of Book (Universal books or other local
printing company, volume of 200 pages; 500-700 books printed): USD 3,500.00
Line item 5: Costs for Book launching (Auditorium rental in Exedra books;
promotional announcements in La Prensa; printed invitations and circulation; hors
d’ouvre and cocktail; planning charges): USD 1,500.00
Total: US $ 8,550.00
7) Proponents:
7.1 Project’s leader and translator.
Ms. Rita Wong, M.A. in English, Owner of the “Book Nook” Bookstore in Colón,
Master in TESOL.
Cel. Phone: 6747-3527
Email: hrdrwl@yahoo.com
7.2 Coordinator of activities and publications.
Mr. Winston Churchill James, Lawyer, Panama Customs Agency in Colón, Poet of
Colón.
Cel. Phone: 6779-9303
Email: winston.churchill.james@gmail.com
7.3 Reviewer of translation and essay writer.
Dr. Luis Wong Vega, Biochemist / Molecular Biologist, Poet from Colón
Cel. Phone: 6980-4769
Email: luis.wong@irta.eu