Fidel Castro presents his memoirs -- "Time Guerrilla"

HAVANA, Feb 5, 2012 (AFP) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro presented two volumes of his memoir entitled "Time Guerrilla" in a ceremony that marked his first public appearance since last April, Cuban media reported.

The memoirs trace his life from infancy until 1958, when he succeeded in leading a revolution that turned Cuba into a communist country aligned with the Soviet Union.

Castro's recollection of events is reported through conversations with journalist Katiuska Blanco.

"I have to seize the opportunity now because my memory is spent," the 85-year-old Castro told guests at a presentation Friday at the Palace of Conventions in Havana.

The Cuban leader had not been seen in public since April 2011 when he attended the closing ceremony of a Communist Party congress.

Among the guests on Friday was Abel Prieto, Cuba's cultural minister; Miguel Barnet, president of the Union of Writers and Artists; and Blanco, the book's author.

"I'm willing to do everything possible to convey what I remember well," Castro was quoted as saying in the official newspapers Granma, Young Rebel and on the website Cubadebate. "I've been expressing all the ideas I had and the feelings that I went through. I am aware of the importance of telling all this to pass it so that it can be useful."

During the conversations with Blanco, which span 1,000 pages in the book, Castro said, "I prefer an old clock, old eyeglasses, old boots and in politics, everything new."

Blanco, who also authored the first official biography of Castro and his family, presents his memoirs in the form of questions and answers.

The book is similar to "One Hundred Hours with Fidel," a book of conversations between Castro and Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, published in late 2006, just after the Cuban leader turned over power to his brother, Raul, amid a health crisis.

Since then, Castro has dedicated himself to publishing a book that narrates his experiences during the Cuban revolution and writing columns in the media titled "Reflections." The columns expound on his views on current events.

Castro gave copies of his two-volume memoirs to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff during her visit to Cuba this week, according to diplomatic sources in Brazil.

The memoirs are published by Editora Abril and illustrated with photographs and drawings by the Cuban painter Ernesto Rancano.

Castro spoke about international politics during his presentation at the Palace of Conventions.