I believe the playwright chose to do this to evoke emotions in the audience as well as to show the emotional capacity of the characters. Although this play doesn’t have a lot of “action”, it does lay out a clear story in the form of letters and interactions. In the first scene with Marc and Joseph talking about poetry, Joseph’s words about trying to create poetry sets the tone of the play. “And I’ve been saying words in my head to see if word spirits would come, like move in, like to join other words that were there.”  What Joseph is saying here is almost that he’s trying to speak things into existence by letting them come easily. I think it’s a powerful statement. “As if words had desires, and they want to join other words to express something … of beauty or longing or despair.” Luis’s letters, to me, start somewhat hopeful. However, as they go on and he explains what his path leaving Cuba would look like, things become more clear. It seems as if he is making excuses as to why he can’t or shouldn’t leave, without actually telling Fran why. At the end of his letters, he writes that Ana was asking if he had finished that letter. It’s as if he’s getting afraid of how real leaving could possibly be, and he might disappoint Fran by not wanting to go. Now it’s probably evident to Fran why Luis doesn’t want to go, even though we don’t get to read her letters. But I believe Luis, in his letters, shares the sentiment that Joseph was getting at about creating poetry. Luis is hoping that in writing the letters he might convince himself to go join Fran. That, and that his words will somehow lessen the distance. The letters are Luis’s way of showing emotion. 

  Writing poetry is Joseph’s way of showing emotion. Dancing and or performing are Fran’s ways of showing emotion, and she says as much. Fran says she understands movement and music after claiming that some people understand words better than others. I think this is probably why we don’t see her letters, and why she feels so distant in the play. Given Luis’ letters and Fran’s actions, I’m led to believe there was distance even when she was back home in Cuba. Fran clearly wanted to leave to follow her dreams, and maybe she was so focused on that, that she wasn’t so present in her life back in Cuba. Now that she’s gone, Luis is trying his best to connect with her since she’s not so concerned with leaving anymore. Fran is focused on starting her own life and doing the things she loves. While she loves Luis and Cuba, her responses back seem to be erratic because she can’t express herself well in that medium. Luis can, and he’s trying his best. Joseph and his poetry represent him as somewhat of a hopeless romantic. He loves Fran but feels their distance as she’s not always around. He’s like a little kid in a sense. His words are similar to Enriques (Luis’s son) in that they are innocent. But his poems are powerful and show a want for a deeper understanding of life and emotions. Marc seems to be the most grounded character in the play, at least when it comes to love. Maybe he is like Gerardo, who understands the plight of his people wanting to leave for America

  I think this translates on stage beautifully. It was very easy to imagine all of these things happening as I read them. I think this play is rich with emotion in many different aspects and it’s very easy to feel. Ultimately all of these people are longing for connection. Romantic, platonic, familial. Connection to their home. They are doing their best in trying to navigate all of these different relationships. We learn that Luis does not want to leave his homeland as all of the younger people did. His conversation with Gerardo is full of emotion, as they talk about how they’re essentially the only ones left of the people they grew up with. Going in, I thought the play would be mostly about Fran. But because of the other mediums, I believe the play is mostly about the people in her orbit The letters, the poems, and the actions all show the complexities of connecting and disconnecting with the people, places, or things the characters love.

“Letters from Cuba-Maria Irene Fornes.” Scribd, Scribd, www.scribd.com/document/454679058/Letters-from-Cuba-Maria-Irene-Fornes.”