Surely when passing in the afternoon along Calle Galera, near the Café Hispano, or along Calle Real with Torreiro, have you ever seen the poet from A Coruña Abel García Pantín, 31, offering his writings on a sheet of paper, rolled up, and with a detail bow.
To those who go without hurry, Abel opens and reads the poem to them, many times signed by their pseudonyms, such as White Raven, Saul Pushkin (from Aleksandr Pushkin, the Russian poet), among other names. And so “life is sought” on the street, every day.
As a voracious reader, he always carries works by Sara M. Bernard (Málaga), Teresa Ramiro (A Coruña) and Celia Prado Vega placeholder image (Ponferrada), for example. In addition to a collective book, “Discontinuous”, in which he has participated and which is in the libraries. Beside his faithful bitch Lorca (referring to the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, which is your favorite).
How it looks, everything around him is poetry. According to him, he wrote his first poem when he was seven or eight years old. Since then he has put his concerns in verses, has created pieces for theater and has also written lyrics for rap. “Fade to Black” Y “Soap bubbles” are some of the poetry notebooks that he has taken out, in addition to the many fanzines that he has published with the collective of poets Esbardalle.
Almost 10 years on the street
“I worked as a waiter, a kitchen assistant, taking care of an elderly person … I have no studies, I went that way. to read and investigate. I left high school to go to the library, “says Abel. So at the age of 20 he has decided to live on what he likes the most: art and poetry.
In his career he has done shows and recitals in bars in A Coruña (and also Santiago, Ourense, Pontevedra and other places in Galicia). With his collective, he has come to Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, making accessible art. Throughout these years he has written about 100 poemsSome are the ones that are usually sold on the street today.
“There are a series of them that I like more, that people receive them better, especially softer poems, the same with poems that are about love, easier to digest. Then I have many things written that are very critical, very acidic, very hard, which people don’t like, “he observes.
A work schedule
In 2010 he began to sell the poems on the street. “In November of next year it will be 10 years. My idea is to get there and stop“, he says, and continue only with the recitals in the bars.” Because I have a thing with the street, after so many years, something nice grows there. “
When he first came down to sell he was accompanied by his friend Bea. In the Lugo Square, the site chosen for the attempt, “we offered poems for 20 cents. And well, in general the reception was surprising. At first very well, in general,” he says.
“He did like a normal job. This went on for quite a while. Well, he lived at the rental center, I had to get to the rent and the bills like a pussycat. And I did earn money, I didn’t lack anything, I gave for my tapas, my coffees … “
–With this going out “to see what happens”, he saw that he could make a living from his art. “So I started going out with some schedules already. A work schedule. It was like from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00 from Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings, “he says. But in recent months he tells us that he usually goes out to sell when he needs it.
In addition to selling in some parts of the city, there are glass jars with his poems in the cafe Universal and El Café de Macondo.
“Each person values the poem in a different way. I have received from one cent to 50 euros”
He prefers to call this trade “look for life”. “I am not asking, I am offering something. In that there is a lot of struggle.” Now she doesn’t go down with her friend and the prices have changed. Let the person who buys decide how much it is worth.
Different reactions and anecdotes
“There were very beautiful moments, of people who really look into the eyes, people who have cried, who have smiled when they came sad. Very curious things have happened to me, for example, a woman who she left her husband for a poem of mine“.
“In contrast to that, they later asked me for a poem to read at a wedding. There are a lot of people who have poems in the room on the wall, or on the refrigerator. Well, they are very nice things, the truth, “he is happy to say.
And another thing that makes him smile is to remind himself that they have already taken his poems to other countries, on five continents. “They are on the move. I’m very excited, what I do is useful for something.”
–On the other hand, he points out, there is “much rejection and much contempt“It is the negative reaction.” I do not understand, but it exists, and it is a lot of people. What happens is that it is compensated with the people who value it “.
“They have hit me for selling poems. That was just one time. Behaviors of this type are many, insults, contempt, lack of respect. Of people of all kinds. No kids, grown-ups, with children, older people. And I say, what happens to you “, the poet asks himself.
Outdoor art
“There is a social vision towards the people who are on the street that comes from fear, from misunderstanding. Of course there is a lot of disrespectful way of approaching. Desperate people who do whatever it takes. But the artists who are on the street are artists. and they are working. They are earning their bread“, he points out.
“For me it is super necessary that there be art in the street, it is a sample that living of your dreams is possible. How many well-known artists, the famous ones, that people follow in droves, started like this? Let’s not devalue that. You can live being on the street. ”
“Can you imagine the streets without the artists?”
How did the idea of selling poems on the street come up?
This started with a friend, Bea, when we were talking about making a living out of what we wanted to do. We were watching the Argentine movie “The dark side of the Heart” (1993), which tells the story of a poet who exchanged verses for coins on the street. Thus came the idea of dating some poems. And there we went.
What are the feelings that force you to write?
Love above all, and tragedy, for the part that hurts me.
How would you describe your poems?
Very baroque poems, all very dark.
Which authors inspire you the most?
The last poet I saw that I really liked was Patricia heras. His poetry is quite harsh and with something magical. I need reality. Poetry is fine as a distraction, but also as something that makes you think.
Poets you recommend reading:
Maria Buenamuerte (A Coruña), Teresa Ramiro (A Coruña), Susana Rumbo (Jaén) and Sara M. Bernard (Málaga), among others.
