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ArtesMiami Mourns the Loss of Writer Lilliam Moro

March 14, 2020

At dawn on Saturday, March 14, just six days after turning 74, Cuban exile writer Lilliam Moro died in her Miami apartment. She had been born in Havana on March 8, 1946, precisely on Women's Day.

Her partner, Julia, to whom she had been married for 10 years, said that Lilliam "was fighting cancer, which metastasized very quickly, so her illness was brief and with little pain." Then she added: "She died in her sleep."

Lilliam Moro began her career as a writer around 1965 in an inter-university competition, when she won the First Prize for Poetry with El extranjero. From that moment she was recognized for her talent and became a member of the group of writers gathered around the mythical Ediciones El Puente, directed by the poet José Mario (1940-2002). For some time she worked as a literature professor and later wrote literary criticism in Cuba. In 1970 she went to Spain, where she lived for more than four decades. She lived for a time in Puerto Rico and finally settled in Miami, where she continued to be very active in literary creation.

In 2017 Editorial Ultramar (recently renamed Editorial ArtesMiami) published El silencio y la furia, a poetry book that has been favorably reviewed by Miami literary critics. Available at Books and Books.

By 2019, Lilliam Moro had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that quickly affected other organs. However, she concentrated all her energies on publishing two books: Las reencarnaciones de Mamá Inés (a novel) and Ese olor a después (a poetry book). "She saw both books published before closing her eyes and that gave her great joy, days of happiness," said her partner Julia.

Shortly before her death, Lilliam received public recognition from her friends, colleagues and admirers in Viernes de Tertulia, a monthly event coordinated by the writer and journalist Luis de la Paz, at the Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Center. Among the speakers were: writers Carlos Alberto Montaner, José Abreu Felippe, Reinaldo García Ramos, Sergio de los Reyes and Franky de Varona.

Lilliam Moro's books include the poems La cara de la guerra, Poemas del 42, Cuaderno de La Habana, Obra poética casi completa, Contracorriente, winner of the International Poetry Prize "Pilar Fernández Labrador", in Salamanca, Spain, El silencio y la furia (Ediciones Ultramar, 2017), Tabla de salvación and Viaje hacia el horror. In narrative En la boca del lobo, winner of the Novel Prize "Villanueva del Pardillo," and which was the subject of study during two courses at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Seville.

The writer, as already indicated, managed to see the novel Las reencarnaciones de Mamá Inés and the poetry book Ese olor a después. The books are already on Amazon.

Rest in peace, dear Lilliam.