Return of the River
Return of the River presents a wide selection of Roberto Sosa's poetry in superb translations by JoAnne Engelbert. \ Born in Yoro, Honduras in 1930 into a poor family, Roberto Sosa had to struggle hard to gain an education and didn't publish his first book until he was nearly thirty. After he won the Adonais Prize (1969) and the Casa de las Americas Prize (1971), critics recognized him as a major talent.
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Return of the River presents a wide selection of Roberto Sosa's poetry in superb translations by JoAnne Engelbert. Sosa's voice...is never ornate or emotionally explosive; it is controlled, reflective, and measured. Nevertheless, it is intensely emotional and pregnant with feeling, a feeling that is seductive and operates in the manner of an undertow."-San Francisco ChronicleBorn in Yoro, Honduras in 1930 into a poor family, Roberto Sosa had to struggle hard to gain an education and didn't publish his first book until he was nearly thirty. After he won the Adonais Prize (1969) and the Casa de las Americas Prize (1971), critics recognized him as a major talent. Marketing Plans:• Author readings in St. Augustine, New York, DC, Hartford, Amherst.JoAnne Engelbert is Professor Emeritus at Montclair State College and currently resides in St. Augustine, Florida.Also by Roberto SosaThe Common GriefPB $11.95, 1-880684-23-3 CUSALibrary JournalAlthough Sosa is Honduras's leading contemporary poet, he is far from a household name beyond his homeland. Publication of this bilingual collection, which offers a well-chosen, representative selection from all nine of his poetic works, is an important step toward ending that undeserved neglect. The trajectory of Sosa's work moves from the experimental "Calligrams" to the political commitment of his middle period, then modulates to the erotic "The Lifted Mask" and the elegiac "The Weeping of Things." Through this thematic variety, Sosa maintains a simple, short, direct style, as exemplified by the fundamental "My Father," which the translations accurately convey. By their very nature, these verses outlast and transcend the political vicissitudes of both the poet and the state that engendered them. A much more diverse offering than the previous Difficult Days (LJ 9/15/83), this is likely to be Sosa's definitive collection in English for some time to come. Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
IntroductionAuthor's PrologueTegucigalpa5Under the Sea7Autobiography11Nameless13The Stevedores15Images17Dogs19Dawn Cross21Simple Elegy27Storm29Old Town31Amapala33Mirrors35Statuary41Lullaby43The Shore45The Wind47Shipwreck49High Sea51Deserted Lake53Words for a Little Girl Who Fell Asleep55I Must Return59The Poor63From Child to Adult65Chambers67The White Tunnels that Lead to the Sea69If Cold Were a House with Hay, a Child and Mystery71The Steps Remaining73The House of Justice75The City of Beggar Children77Reality79The Other Ocean81Equality83The Unheeded Voices of the Rich85The Indians87My Father91Empty Piano105This Light by which I Write109Spatial Art111The Desert Sand I Share with Others113Proximity115The Dark Battle117Song for a Dead Cat119Freehand Sketch121The Chosen Ones123That Other Death125Qualms127The Air We Have Left131The Grass the Peasants Cut133Wicked Headless Dancers137The Enigmatic Salts139The Apex141The Difficult Days145Description of a City in Danger149An Abnormal Quantity of Rain153Military Secret159Tiburcio Carias, the Man161Stroessner163Monsieur Duvalier165The Hallucinating Beast167The Squaring of the Face171Pinochet in the Balance of Payments173The Persecution of the Mastiffs175It Happened in '32. And There's No Forgetting177Guatemala, Land of Eternal Spring179Two Major Words Fall into the Void181The Voice of the People185Urgent187She191The Station and the Pact193From the Mist I Made Wine195Simple197The Lifted Mask199Upon the Water201The Black Swan203In This Park, Alone205The Most Ancient of the Names of Fire207The Return of the River209The Illuminated Fountain211Sweet Salt of the Word Poetry213Memories Numbers 1-2217The Child219The Weeping of Things221The Old Pontiac223The Events in That Port225Flame Tree227A Seagull229Under a Tree233The Only Door235Weariness237The Common Grief239Perfect Beauty243Day Was Dawning245Evensong247Image of the Rain249Mist Woman251Voices You Do Not Hear255Nostalgia257Death of the Rose259Silence of the Sirens261Copan263
\ Library JournalAlthough Sosa is Honduras's leading contemporary poet, he is far from a household name beyond his homeland. Publication of this bilingual collection, which offers a well-chosen, representative selection from all nine of his poetic works, is an important step toward ending that undeserved neglect. The trajectory of Sosa's work moves from the experimental "Calligrams" to the political commitment of his middle period, then modulates to the erotic "The Lifted Mask" and the elegiac "The Weeping of Things." Through this thematic variety, Sosa maintains a simple, short, direct style, as exemplified by the fundamental "My Father," which the translations accurately convey. By their very nature, these verses outlast and transcend the political vicissitudes of both the poet and the state that engendered them. A much more diverse offering than the previous Difficult Days (LJ 9/15/83), this is likely to be Sosa's definitive collection in English for some time to come. Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.\ \
