Synopses & Reviews
Lorca's essential poems, in an attractive bilingual editionThis new edition of Selected Verse incorporates changes made to Federico García Lorca's Collected Poems, and will be an essential addition to any poetry lover's bookshelf. In this bilingual edition, Lorca's poetic range comes clearly into view, from the playful Suites and stylized evocations of Andalusia to the utter gravity and mystery of the final elegies, confirming his stature as one of our century's finest poets.
Federico García Lorca, born in Granada in 1898, is widely seen as Spain's greatest modern poet. Among his best-known books are The Divan at Tamarit, Poet in New York, and The Gypsy Ballads. He was murdered by Franco's soldiers in 1936.
Christopher Maurer is head of the Department of Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese at the University of Illinois in Chicago. The work of Federico García Lorca, Spain's greatest modern poet, has long been admired for its emotional intensity and metaphorical brilliance. This revised Selected Verse, which incorporates changes made in Christopher Maurer's landmark 2002 edition of Lorca's Collected Poems, is the most wide-ranging abridgement of his verse available in English. As vividly and sensitively rendered by some ten translatorsCatherine Brown, Cola Franzen, Angela Jaffray, Galway Kinnell, Will Kirkland, Christopher Maurer, Jerome Rothenberg, Greg Simon, Alan S. Trueblood, and Steven F. Whitethe poems in this selection appear in a clear, bilingual, facing-pages format.
Editor Maurer, a leading scholar of this poet's life and work, draws from every book of poems that Lorca published during his lifetime while also including several uncollected poems. Lorca's poetic range comes clearly into view, from the playful Suites and stylized evocations of Andalusia to the utter gravity and mystery of the final elegiesthus confirming his stature as one of the twentieth century's finest poets.
The book concludes with an Index of Titles, an extensive Bibliography, biographical summaries for all of the translators, and an in-depth yet accessible array of Notes to the Poems (as made by Maurer throughout).
Now in a Newly Revised Edition
"Through the sheer power of [Lorca's] imaginative genius, in [these] lucid translations of his poems that are as intelligent as they are intuitive, we witness how the poet . . . expanded the scope of lyric poetry [and] entirely redefined the elegy."Rafael Campo, The Washington Post "Rarely has anyone written with such duende (or 'soul'), such fervent eloquence, such vividness and audacity as Lorca."David H. Rosenthal, The New York Times Book Review
"Through the sheer power of [Lorca's] imaginative genius, in [these] lucid translations of his poems that are as intelligent as they are intuitive, we witness how the poet . . . expanded the scope of lyric poetry [and] entirely redefined the elegy."Rafael Campo, The Washington Post
"García Lorca's poems remain influential, mysterious, and some of the most emotional we have . . . English and Spanish readers can depend on this bilingual series of volumes to enjoy [his] timeless body of work."The Bloomsbury Review
"The entire poetic spectrum of Spain's greatest modern poet and dramatist is showcased [here] . . . Lorca (1898-1936) drew upon his country's rich and sonorous musical tradition for inspiration, and his early poems are spellbindingly beautiful, animated with the sweet breath of the Andulusian land he loved so much and lit with images and metaphors as bright and quick as birds. His ballads, nocturnes, and Suites are tender inquiries into the dark corners of heart and mind, all set in a promising realm of gardens and roads. Gradually, as Lorca's passion for the theater intensified, his poems became longer and more dramatic, and as our brutal [twentieth] century picked up speed, his heretofore gentle surrealism became harsher and more pronounced. His poetry changed even more radically once he moved to New York. Words such as mire, putrid, anguish, and blood surface repeatedly as he captures the cruelty of this racially divisive city. Scholar Maurer has chosen well
qlfrom all ten of Lorca's published poetry collections as well as from a selection of previously uncollected works, and the translations are superb."Donna Seaman, Booklist (on the earlier edition of this selection)
Review
“Garcia Lorcas poems remain influential, mysterious, and some of the most emotional we have.” —
The Bloomsbury Review“The entire poetic spectrum of Spains greatest modern poet and dramatist is showcased . . . Lorca scholar Maurer has chosen well from all 10 of Lorcas published poetry collections as well as from a selection of previously uncollected works, and the translations are superb.” —Donna Seaman, Booklist
Synopsis
Selected verse from the poet who “expanded the scope of lyric poetry” (Rafael Campo, The Washington Post).The work of Federico García Lorca, Spains greatest modernist poet, has long been admired for its emotional intensity and metaphorical brilliance. The revised Selected Verse, which incorporates changes made to García Lorcas Collected Poems, is an essential addition to any poetry lovers bookshelf. In this bilingual edition, García Lorcas poetic range comes clearly into view, from the playful Suites and stylized evocations of Andalusia to the utter gravity and mystery of the final elegies, confirming his stature as one of the twentieth centurys finest poets.
Synopsis
Selected verse from the poet who "expanded the scope of lyric poetry" (Rafael Campo, The Washington Post).
The work of Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain's greatest modernist poet, has long been admired for its emotional intensity and metaphorical brilliance. The revised Selected Verse, which incorporates changes made to Garcia Lorca's Collected Poems, is an essential addition to any poetry lover's bookshelf. In this bilingual edition, Garcia Lorca's poetic range comes clearly into view, from the playful Suites and stylized evocations of Andalusia to the utter gravity and mystery of the final elegies, confirming his stature as one of the twentieth century's finest poets.
Synopsis
Lorca's essential poems, in an attractive bilingual editionThis new edition of Selected Verse incorporates changes made to Federico García Lorca's Collected Poems, and will be an essential addition to any poetry lover's bookshelf. In this bilingual edition, Lorca's poetic range comes clearly into view, from the playful Suites and stylized evocations of Andalusia to the utter gravity and mystery of the final elegies, confirming his stature as one of our century's finest poets.
About the Author
Federico García Lorca was born in 1898 in southern Spain. From an early age he was fascinated by Spains mixed heritage, adapting its folk songs, ballads, lullabies, and flamenco music into poems and plays. By the age of thirty, he had published five books of poems, culminating in 1928 with
Gypsy Ballads, which brought him far-reaching fame. In 1929-30 he studied in New York City, where he wrote the poems that were published posthumously as
Poet in New York. In 1936, at the outset of the Spanish Civil War, he was shot to death by anti-Republican rebels in Francos army, and his books were banned and destroyed.
Christopher Maurer is the head of the Department of Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese at the University of Illinois in Chicago.