Dear Alberto Ríos 2019
As part of the 2019 Dear Poet project, students around the country and the world wrote letters to Alberto Ríos in response to a video of him reading his poem “A House Called Tomorrow” aloud. Alberto Ríos wrote letters back to thirteen of these students; their letters and his replies are included below.
Alberto Ríos also wrote the following response to all of the participants of this year's Dear Poet project.
We are living in unsettling times right now. Everything is loud. And loud is a bully—it’s always trying to tell you what to do, what to think, what to like.
It may be hard to contemplate writing a poem about a daffodil as William Wordsworth did, or a cactus wren, or the smell of a washing machine washing, even though we might really want to—beauty is always calling out to us, through all the senses. Trouble is loud and calls for our attention, too—as it should. If someone falls, we of course go over and try to help.
So, the quiet daffodil or world hunger? Great poems have been about everything—trouble, daffodils, indeed any imaginable idea.
To this end, some poems are needed into being, some are remembered into being, some are invented into being.
Trouble, especially when exemplified as injustice, is counter to the human soul. It has to be addressed, of course. That’s who we are as human beings. We need to stand up for what we believe in. But there is so much more. And you as a poet are required to write only whatever you require of yourself—it does not originate with someone or something else telling you what to do. It comes with more magic attached, which you have to learn to trust. You must write what you must write.
If you liked my poem, if one poem intrigues you, it will be good news to know that there are many, many more waiting for you. Not all of them will suit you, but some will, and that will make all the difference.
There’s a pirate’s treasure in literature, but it’s up to you to dig it up. So curiously, the maps are everywhere. Go to a library. Open a book, any book. Start plundering.
—Alberto Ríos
From Jackson, Southwest Regional Youth Poet Laureate
Dear Alberto Ríos,
Your poem finds me so warmly in a time of un-stillness. I’m moving away from home soon for school. It’s exciting, I’m ready, but this departure has me thinking about inheritance, how much of my home I carry inside me, how much I leave behind. Your poem holds similar questions with such a gentle hand.
“From those centuries we human beings bring with us/ The simple solutions and songs”
When I think about family, I think about the people who hold me, and not necessarily a blood inheritance. I come from my “father’s fathers” but I also come from my dearest friends and the spaces we share. What I want to take with me is that warmth, that tenderness, these “songs” I’ve inherited through a different kind of lineage.
It’s important to“Look back only for as long as you must,” but I want to ask if this poem is also looking horizontally, at the people and places around it. When I think about writing books, I want to do it in community with the people around me as much the ancestors that inform my future.
The thing about moving is, both the people of my past and the people of my present feel so far. One by time, and one by geography. I wonder how do you access the loved ones of this poem? “The house called tomorrow” feels like such an unreachable space, but I agree that we have so many years of light to guide us. The matter of finding that light though, is it as easy as a switch, calling loved ones by names? I wonder how we unleash “a hundred wild centuries”and to do it with care.
Sending all my warmth,
Jackson
Age 19
Youth Poet Laureate of Houston
Southwest Regional Youth Poet Laureate
From Emily, Grade 12
Dear Alberto Ríos,
As I read “ A House Called Tomorrow” I couldn’t help but connect your use of the number fifteen with the fact that in Hispanic, specifically Mexican culture, fifteen marks a girl’s transition to womanhood with her Quinceañera. The Quinceañera grieves the past childhood but also celebrates a new chapter of a young woman’s life. The line “Make us proud. Make yourself proud” resonated deeply with me. As a first-generation college student that is all I have heard all my life: “Make us proud.” Even though I have heard it from my parents, it has always felt like a bigger request. I have felt the weight of my ancestors behind me urging me to continue pushing forward to heights unreached by them. As I sat and wrote countless college essays, I could feel their power pushing me forward. I could feel the thunder of their applause as I pressed submit on all my applications. With everything that I do, I can hear my ancestors urging me to “Be good, then better.” I wonder, when you decided to be a poet, could you hear the thunder of your ancestors urging you forward to tell your story and theirs?
Emily
Grade 12
San Antonio, TX
From Aasim, Grade 11
Dear Alberto Ríos,
As part of a project in my English class, I recently read your poem “A House Called Tomorrow,” and I truly enjoyed reading, analyzing, and contemplating it. As a child of two immigrant parents, I felt that I could heavily relate with the messages of your poem, and immediately upon reading it, I thought about how my life connects to the themes you included in your poem.
I especially loved the lines, “When you as a child learned to speak, / it’s not that you didn’t know words —/it’s that, from the centuries, you knew so many, / And it’s hard to choose the words that will be your own.” As a young child, I spoke the language of Urdu at my house, and I formally learned English at school. However, my school informed my parents one day that my English was not developing properly, so they forced me to speak English in the house so that I could work on my fluency of English alone. Now, I am unable to speak Urdu, although I can understand it, so I can definitely relate with these lines. Out of curiosity, did you have the experience of having to choose between languages as a child?
I also appreciated the first few lines of the poem, “ You are not fifteen, or twelve, or seventeen—/ you are a hundred wild centuries/ And fifteen, bringing with you/In every breath and in every step/ Everyone who has come before you,/ All the yous that you have been,/ The mothers of your mother,/ The fathers of your father.” I loved the rhythm with which these lines flowed. I also felt like I could relate with these lines; the heritage of my family, including traditions, customs, and language, as mentioned above, has played an immense role in my life.
The last two lines of the poem, “And those who came before you? When you hear thunder,/ Hear it as their applause,” were inspirational. I truly enjoyed the manner with which this poem ends. How did you choose these last lines?
In the lines, “The simple solutions and songs, / The river bridges and star charts and song harmonies/All in service to a simple idea,” is there a certain reason as to why you chose those specific symbols to describe the items “we humans bring with us” from our ancestry? I thought that those couple symbols represent one’s heritage well.
I felt that this poem is about using the experiences of your ancestors to build a “house called tomorrow” and make a positive impact on the future society. This poem celebrates one’s ancestry and motivates one to make one’s own “history.”
I was wondering, how did you choose the title for this poem? Did you have some sort of inspiration for it? Also, why did you choose your poem to be in couplets? Personally, I felt that this structure gave a great flow to the poem.
Sincerely,
Aasim
Grade 11
Kansas City, MO
From Jessica, Grade 12
Dear Mr. Ríos,
Thank you for offering your poem for the Dear Poet Project.
My name is Jessica and I am a twelfth-grade student. Your poem spoke to me because you have showed me the way to which I struggle most to realize. I have always tried to fit in. Every since my father left it was an endless account to please everyone around me especially my mother, seeing my father leave made me feel like a piece of crap. I did and still try to do my best, but I know now it’s okay to make mistakes.
I work a full-time job, graveyard shift and I am a graduating senior. I am excited to start my life. My college classes are all set up for the fall. Now that I am becoming an adult, I know the one thing that’s most important is that I hold true to myself. You said, “you are made fundamentally from the good.” This line in your poem speaks to me that we are all born good and that if we make mistakes, we are not intentionally bad. Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep going when people get me down. I have a lot of self-criticism and doubt. I have let a lot of people get me down, and it breaks my heart more and more. I’m not close to my family like I want to be. However, you said, “…is ourselves. That’s all we need to start. That’s everything we require to keep going.” This made me realize that if I keep pushing myself to improve, I can do anything I put my mind to.
I have a few supporters, but I know one day they won’t always be here so I must remember what you said, “be good, then better.” If I follow this, I know that I will continue to grind and push harder, no one will be able to stop me.
Sincerely,
Jessica
Grade 12
Salisbury, MD
From Christopher, Grade 12
Dear Alberto Ríos,
My name is Christopher, and I’m a senior. I like listening to music and taking photos. I am writing to you in regards to your poem “A House Called Tomorrow.” I really enjoyed your piece.
Your poem reminds me of Robin Williams’ line in Dead Poets Society. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with it, so here it is:
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, “O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?” Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”
The way I interpreted your piece was the same as I did Williams’ line. You both want us to contribute a verse, our verse. To make our mark on this earth, to find the beauty life has to offer.
But I have always asked myself a question, though: Is this life really worth living?
We live amongst corrupt people whose spirits have been broken. A government that doesn’t care about its people. A racist society that condemns Black and brown people Even if a human life is a human life, they don’t care if we suffocate—people like me. That’s “the bad” you write about, I suppose. So what’s the point? Why should we try to make this world better?
Sometimes it feels like I can’t be “the good” because I was once the bad that you speak of. I used to hurt myself, and I didn’t believe that I had meaning, that this world has no place for a person with bad mental health, who doesn’t know how to cope with feelings, who would rather hurt themselves.
But that’s over. I have changed. I want to be “the good that has come forward.” I want to hear the “thunder” roar because I know I deserve it.
Thanks to you and this poem, I am reminded again that I should look back only as long as I need to. Then I’ll go forward into the history I’ll make.
Much love,
Christopher
Grade 12
Fall River, MA
From David, Grade 12
Dear Alberto Ríos,
My name is David and I am a student in Fall River, Massachusetts. As part of the Dear Poet Project, my English class read your poem, “A House Called Tomorrow”, and it was by far the poem that I enjoyed the most.
I like that you made the best out of the bad, such as when you said that there are a hundred good family members for the one that isn’t and that when you were young, you couldn’t talk because you didn’t know which words to use, not because you didn’t know any words. My favorite part was the last three stanzas. I found it really inspiring and love the idea of thinking of thunder as an applause from your ancestors.
Although the last three stanzas were my favorite, the part that I connected with the most was when you talked about the bad family members. For me, that was my father’s brother. I heard stories from my father of how he used to get drunk a lot, pick fights, was irresponsible, and in general was a disgrace to his family. He even got so angry at my father once that he wanted to kill him, but some friends of my father warned him. Luckily, the good to counter him was my father, who has worked hard his whole life to give me, my mom, and himself a better life. I’ve never met my uncle, but I don’t think I would really want to.
The lines “Look back only for as long as you must,/ Then go forward into the history that you will make” was a line that really interested me. I believe that we have to learn from the past in order to make sure we don’t repeat our mistakes and this line agrees with that, but I like that you specified “as long as you must.” The word “must” implies a minimum, so that we don’t get caught up into the past or start adopting the bad from the past, but the “you” makes it a personal thing, acknowledging that it will be different for everyone and you will have to use your better judgment to figure it out for yourself.
How long did you have to look into the past to be able to make your history? What did you learn from it? What part of your family history was most helpful in figuring out who you are?
Sincerely,
David
Grade 12
Fall River, MA
From Ellie, Grade 10
Dear Alberto Ríos,
I would love to write you some eloquent letter worthy of being published, but in reality, I don’t think that’s how letters should work. So here is what I will say instead: Thank you. Thank you for moving me with your words and showing me that words are far more powerful than they seem from a purely logical view. Words communicate, but yours showed me my world and the world of so many others. The world of those plagued by their own and their family’s history. I know that people may read this and get completely different messages out of it. I know that no one will read this and know exactly what you were thinking when you wrote it. But when I read this poem, I see that there is a life ahead of me that is not plagued by my father’s actions and mistakes. I see that no matter the dishonesty and infidelity of those who came before me, I can still be a good person. Sometimes all I know in this life is that I will not be my father, and most of the time I lower my standards because all I care about is that I am better than my father. This poem has shown me that no matter what those who came before me may or may not have done, I can be the good, and the good in my own family’s history outshines whatever bad there may be. The good in this world can always outshine the bad. So, thank you for showing me this good, and showing me that it can indeed triumph.
Yours truly,
Ellie
Grade 10
St. Louis, MO
From Carter, Grade 11
Dear Alberto Ríos,
Before I get to the endless flattery that is sure to ensue in this letter, first I should start with introductions. I’m Carter, a seventeen years young high school junior from Idaho. The reason I’m writing to you is simply that you wrote to me first with your poem “A House Called Tomorrow.” It started with a statement that struck me “You are not fifteen, or twelve, or seventeen—You are a hundred wild centuries”. This line embodies what it means to learn, age, and grow up. As every teenager who has ever lived, I've felt talked down to at times, like my thoughts were not worth the time of the infinite universe that sprawls out before us. But that line resonated a chord within me-- That line rather than talking at me, was like an invitation to share all my thoughts. However, you did not give me permission it was just an invitation. Most of the older generation would have felt the need to allow me to think, instead you simply welcomed me to share my thoughts. For that basic understanding I would like to thank you.
More graciousness must be shared however because you inspired me; sometimes I forget “That we can make a house called tomorrow. What we bring, finally, into the new day, every day, Is ourselves.”. This world, especially the current state of it, can feel dark and foreboding. As if nothing we do can change our course, it feels almost predetermined. You reminded me that the future will only be what I make of it. If I believe I can’t change the future of course I won’t. So I took your advice to heart, and I’ve started making my house called tomorrow. I will make you, and the generations upon generations before you proud. I will make you proud by building a future and a world I will be happy and proud to live in.
While that is the end of my main thoughts; I would like to comment on a few other lines such as “Be good, then better. Write books. Cure disease. Make us proud. Make yourself proud.” This line is important to me mainly because you put writing on the same level as anything else. You don’t degrade the importance of expression, which is all too easy to do when speaking of the future. As a fledgling writer, I often times feel discouraged by the way people speak of literature and poetry. From your piece I can infer that I should value the work I produce as it might be instrumental in saving the world. Before I sign off I have one question, what do you do when you feel the weight of the sky, like Atlas, pushing down on your shoulders?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
your gracious fanboy
Carter
Grade 11
Boise, ID
From Helen, Grade 11
Dear Professor Ríos,
Your use of imagery in “A House Called Tomorrow” and “The Border” is one of the many things that I thoroughly enjoy about your poems. I can clearly see the “Double-X” on the “skin of so many” and can hear the “applause” when those before me have moved on.
Being a seventeen-year-old girl, living in a time when we may not feel as though we have the ability to “go forward into the history [we] make” I was really moved by this poem. Not only, by the message you send, but how you said it. You were able to allow me to have a realization that I was “made, fundamentally, from the good.” I lost my father last year and turned to poetry as a way for me to say what I needed to say without people knowing it was me. Not only have you given me the strength to move forward and forget the past; you gave me the strength to be happy with who I am and not to hide myself from the world because, I can make change in the world if I try hard enough.
Living on the border is hard. Not because of the lack of opportunity, but because I can see what really happens when people try to cross the border. I began going across the border to feed the asylum seekers about 3 weeks ago, and I can feel myself in the “white line on a skunks back” when my mother, and I cross. Many of the people that I meet see the border as a “stop sign” because they are forced to wait to come into a country of freedom. Your diction in this work, not only gives me a sense of gratefulness in that someone understands the hardship which comes with living on the border, but that there is hope in others to understand why we live here. We live here not because it's cheaper than living up north. We live here because we know that we can connect with people who need help.
Thank you so much for being a part of this project. You have taught me how to love myself, and have given me the strength to connect with the people around me. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to speak with you and to be exposed to you're inspiring words.
A New Fan,
Helen
Grade 11
Mercedes, TX
From Lana, Grade 9
Dear Alberto Ríos,
I’m Lana and I’m a freshman. I really liked your poem, “A House Called Tomorrow”. It really made me think not only about where I come from, but how that translates into who I am now. I really liked what you said about the words being your own and how there were so many to choose from. Sometimes I think I’m still deciding which are to be my own.
I’ve read a few of your poems and I always wondered how you were able to put your ideas into words. To be honest, I constantly have a million ideas in my head that never get out because I feel like I don’t know how. Was it always easy to put your ideas into words? Or was it something that took a long time to perfect?
There was a thunderstorm here in Wisconsin the other night and it made me think about what you said about how the thunder is their applause. I think of all the lines that’s the one that stood out to me the most. Probably because people think of thunderstorms as something gloomy or dark, but now I think of it as something else.
I also spent a lot of time thinking about how you said we only come from the good no matter how loud the bad can be. It sort of struck my sixth sense a bit. I think that it wouldn’t matter how loud they are because you choose your own words. “ a hundred wild centuries” also made me think about how the centuries probably were wild. The lessons and experiences of our family ancestors are all what makes up a story, a family’s story.
I like how you said that you are all the you’s that you have been and that you carry them with you in every step. It’s really true, not only biologically but almost with your soul too. I thought about it as if they almost follow you around and watch almost like a caring parent, cheering you on.
I think “ Make us proud. Make yourself proud.” is a very important line especially for someone growing up. Kids always feel pressure from parents to make them proud but never realize that making themselves proud is the best thing they can do. I think that if you spend your whole life trying to make someone else happy, you’ll never truly be happy yourself.
Sincerely,
A fifteen and a hundred wild centuries year-old,
Lana
Grade 9
Milwaukee, WI
From Nishit, Grade 7
Dear Alberto Ríos,
As I was reading your poem “A House Called Tomorrow,” I got inspired by it because of the words like mothers, fathers, and families. This really means to everyone because their family gives them love which will make them happy. Some people don’t care what their family tells them to do. Suppose your mom tells to throw garbage, some people are lazy and won’t throw it out. They will just sit in the house and do nothing except for playing games.
The sentence that stands out to me was “If someone in your family tree was trouble, A hundred were not”. This really stands out because if there is someone who has pain, the others will try to make them happy. The people who are trying to make them happy will think that his pain will go away in some time. But the people just express that they are out of pain. The real pain is in their heart which will never go away because they will just keep remembering it again and again.
My questions for you is what made you write a poem about this topic. This topic is so inspirational. The people who believe the truth and do not lie can only understand this poem because the main topic is about our lives and what happens in it. Thank you for creating this poem because it really makes me feel inspire and to learn new things in life.
Sincerely,
Nishit
Grade 7
Edison, NJ
From Christina, Grade 5
Dear Alberto Ríos,
I liked your poem, A House Called Tomorrow because it taught me I might have a little bit of all of my family, but it is I who gets to pick my path and it also reminds me I not only have to make other people proud, but I have to make myself proud and that’s something I have to work on. Another thing it tells me every day is a fresh day where I can start over and not have to keep going with the past. I think it’s a good thing to think that thunder is our ancestors’ applauding us and being proud of us. I like that you think that we’re not just whatever our age is, we’re a hundred wild centuries and our age. You taught me to move forward in life and make history.
Sincerely,
Christina
Grade 5
West Haven, CT
From Jene’, Grade 7
Dear Alberto Ríos,
Hello, my name is Jene, and I am a 7th grader. Your poem, “A House Called Tomorrow,” is very enticing. The fluent use of words is impeccable. Real life scenarios really help to visualize the poem’s storyline. The deep amount of thought is very intelligent and helps the audience to understand the poem. I have decided to write to you about this poem because of these amazing reasons.
As I interpret it, this poem is about being yourself. You don’t need to be just like the people before you. You can be whatever you want to be. I understand that there can be different interpretations. This is just how I look at it. That’s the best thing about poems, you can use your imagination to see it through your own eyes. Your poem talks about family. Maybe another interpretation could be about how your heritage can affect your decisions. You talk about ages, maybe some people think of your poem of how you are a “reincarnation” of your ancestors. What is your interpretation? I really liked the use of family and close aspects of life. It kept me in the poem as it pulled me in. I appreciate the amount of thought that the poem has, it makes a difference. Just to think, maybe you can’t think about the differences. I like how we can all see your poem as a way to think. Thought is a main aspect of life. Thinking is the center of all creativity. This poem was made by your thinking. Isn’t that amazing, it’s like I can hear how you think.
Being adopted, the feeling of family is different for me. That’s the great part about family, it’s everywhere. We all can be a family. If you believe and can love those around you, anyone can be your family. Real family though, the ones that feed you, the ones that taught you to tie your shoes, those are the people we look up to. It’s impressive how that works, we love our family, and our family loves us. If they really love you, they will let you be yourself. They will let you be different.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Jene
Grade 7
Butternut, WI