Dominican writer, lawyer and essayist Carlos Salcedo Camacho has launched his first poetry collection, titled La soledad habitada. Expediente sin foliar, in Santo Domingo.
The presentation took place last Saturday at the headquarters of the Dominican Academy of Language. The publication was issued under the Editora Punto y Coma publishing label.
Salcedo Camacho described his work as a daring venture into literary practice by a lawyer who, without abandoning the language of law, attempts to give voice to silence, solitude, and persistence.
Bruno Rosario Candelier, the director of the Dominican Academy of Language, wrote the prologue for the collection and highlighted its literary value during the ceremony. According to a press statement, Rosario Candelier stated that the work serves as an encouragement for emerging voices in Dominican literature.
Literary gathering in Santo Domingo
The launch event brought together a prominent group of poets, writers, and cultural figures. Juan De Jesús Santos Santos, a poet from the city of Moca and a corresponding member of the academy, delivered the official presentation of the book.
Moca, located in the Espaillat province of the northern Cibao region, has a long tradition of literary and civic contribution in the Dominican Republic. Santos Santos joined several commentators and academicians in evaluating the new collection.
Full members of the academy in attendance included Fabio Guzmán Ariza, Eduardo García Michel, Ofelia Odalis Pérez Nina, and Ofelia Berrido. Luis Quezada, a corresponding member of the institution, served as one of the commentators for the work.
The panel of commentators and guests also featured Ramón Saba, José Antonio Rodríguez, León Félix Batista, Soledad Álvarez, José Mármol, Minerva del Risco, and Giovanny Cruz Durán. The audience included judges, members of the Public Prosecutor's Office, and friends of the author.
Legal structure and human experience
In his address to the audience, Salcedo Camacho explained the meaning behind the title of the collection. He noted that an unnumbered file represents a legal case that is never officially closed, serving as a metaphor for open-ended human experiences.
He added that fundamental aspects of life, including solitude, love, and absence, cannot be fully contained or categorized by any formal classification system.
The book is divided into two distinct sections. The first section, titled Experiencia, examines solitude not as a state of isolation or absence, but as the underlying foundation of all human connections.
The second section, titled Letra y toga, borrows the formal framework of a legal code. Using elements such as books, articles, presumptions, and jurisprudence, Salcedo Camacho draws upon his experience as a lawyer, jurist, and academic to explore the boundaries of legal language when confronted with emotional and personal experience.
Performances and academic support
The presentation also featured artistic interpretations of poems from the collection. Singer-songwriter and poet José Antonio Rodríguez set four poem fragments from the book to music on his own initiative and performed them during the gathering.
Reciter René Alfonso provided spoken readings of two selection pieces from the volume, giving voice to the text for those in attendance.
The event highlighted the ongoing relationship between professional legal practice and creative writing in the Caribbean nation. Legal scholars in the Dominican Republic have frequently engaged in literary criticism, poetry, and essay writing alongside their judicial work.
The Dominican Academy of Language
The Dominican Academy of Language was established in 1927 in Santo Domingo. It functions as the principal authority on Spanish usage in the country and belongs to the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language.
By hosting the release of La soledad habitada. Expediente sin foliar, the academy continues its tradition of providing a national forum for new creative works and academic scholarship.
