Reversible Monuments: Contemporary Mexican Poetry

"Now that we're nothing, for example"\ \ Now that we're nothing, for example,\ we can be the rain. Certainly\ the rain welcomes us with no hesitation, even\ when it begins. And now it begins. Drops\ on the windowpane: it welcomes us,\ this item the rain. Kiss me.\ Frailty, weave a thread around the bird's wee foot,\ neighborly conclusion of the rain or finish, weave as much.\ A kind of box with "Fragile" written \ in agile hand, no trembling inside. Let us be fragile\ now that we're not the ocean. A form welcomes us.\ \ \ \ Eduardo Milán, translated by Roberto Tejada\ from Reversible Monuments: Contemporary Mexican Poetry\ \ \

Preface3Introduction7Epistle of the Shipwreck17The weddings of flowers take place upon the stigma. Pollen unfastens when aurora begins, and in a moment life redeems itself and then withdraws29With only two or three stamens, masculine flowers burst. They rise from their own depths, glistening and moist. Loosely turning over, they bring themselves up under the sky midway between light and shadow. Voiceless they wilt, sluggish they die31Ecstasy33Tattoos in the Water39Intermezzo with Five Crocodiles45The Ill-fated Water47Theory of Light53Quantum Theory55Set Theory57Theory of Fractals59The Accuracy of the Scale59Metamorphosis of a Chair69Three States and Three Kingdoms73Maps75Elysian Garden83In This Warm Dark Mosque109Fish of Fleeting Skin113From This Light119A Stone in the Water of Sanity121Upon It They Gently Reflect123The Hypothetical Spectator123Stone in the Sand127The Mysteries of Touch127The Allure of Forms129Flower of Gold131Time for Trees to Dance131Give Away the Lie133Monsoon135Ivy137Mandap139Seva143Fabulation145Banyan147Pavilion147Words149Form151Epiphany151Balancing Act153Shakti153Hotel159Amorous161The Wedding163Metempsychosis of the Dog165"The sun opens its lips and says to us"167The Opened Orange of Light167Brief Viper179Cartography191Eggs Laid by a Tiger193Sunday195Anesthesia195Voyage197Pillows199Contemporaries199Secondhand Book201Neighbors201The Shy Ones203Muse207Meditate209Ignorance209The Authoritarian School and How a Respectable Literary Genre Was Born211Auditor213Christmas215Childish217Classified Ads217Merlin219Ark219Map221Act221Oedipus to the Third Power223Superior227Minimal Ulysses229The Perfumist233Specters237The Promised Land241Account of the Marvels Whispered in a Mannequin's Ear243Nomad House251Turbid Diction261Migrations263On How Robert Schumann Was Defeated by Demons281Hemicranea305Thirteen Propositions against Trivial Love317Machinery323Prayer for August 21325Pathological Beings329Bolero at Armageddon329Summer Mist331The Cauldron331Cancellation of a Construction Project335Descent335A Baroque Cell337Light from Parallel Worlds339Deck of Cards341Dramatis Personae343Heartache345The Cubs345Death of the Kiss351And Never Did ...365My Voice Faithful as a Shadow369The Dead Weight of the Land371An Ending by Pound373On Reading Virgil375Letter381Advertisement387"The sky" (I)391Overflowing Willow393Reunion of Cellos393Good-for-nothings on a White Corner395Keys of the Saint395A Green Hill, a Green Hill397The Horizon Burns397Regression of the Willow397Where to?401"The sky" (II)403"I mean you as though referring to two furies because"413"Rabbit-foot effectiveness, nonentity of"413"Now that we're nothing, for example"415"I believe in nothing, I collaborate, I assist"415"Riddle me what marionettes are"417"I let myself be led because I let loose"417Five419"We can't go on like this: be truthful, empty"421"Do you care to remedy the faces of the gods?"423"One's alone in this: making masks"423"He sends word for them not to be in His place"425"What chorus?"425Sponge429Scissors433Piazza Gimma439"I do not wish, in spite of all"439"I've forgotten the words"441"Elephants are born old"443"Maps are drawn on Sundays"445"I've never been in love enough"449"Compared to the condos of the living"451Tepozan457Topography463Mechanical Heart463Of Fiction and Things473Cantares479Red Tide501Thalassa503A Season of Paradise507A Knack for Slipping Away517River 1519Evening Star527Premonition531Chrysalis531There Where You Sleep ...533Promise535We Never Come537It Isn't Gentleness537Vegetal Animus537Clarity of Silence541Pool543Bullfight543Vertigo545Rosary545Inventory547Ticklish Moments549Boundary549Flying553Beacon553Treadmill555It Was Early Evening559In the Palm of My Hand561Indecision561Six Variations on Love563It's Over565Na Tacha569Zenaida569Olga's House571Temple571Silly Ghost573Na Aurea573Marcelina575Na Hermila Limon575Cielo Min577Revelation577Agricola579Bertha Beninu579Na Victoria Litru581Healers581Natalia583The Shadow That Draws the Light583On the Beach585Hampstead Heath585Return to the City587Conrail Wax Museum587In the Steam Bath589Aegean Sea589Visit to Turk's Head Pub593In the Ritz at Meknes595Arabian Knight597Tenochtitlan Blues599Arcana IV: The Emperor601Arcana VIII: Justice603Arcana X: Fortune605Arcana XII: The Hanged Man605The Story of the Labyrinth607Wands609The Valley of Zapata611615"Maniacs and Crazies"615On Coahuila Street621The Life of a Cucapa Woman625On the "Unusual" Lifestyle of the Cucapa Indians as Recorded by R. W. Hardy, British Lieutenant, While Exploring the Gulf of California627Juan Martinez, Juan Nobody, Juan All629Spanish Versions of Indigenous-Language Poems637About the Translators659Index of English Titles667Index of Spanish Titles671Index of Indigenous Titles675

\ Donna SeamanAmerican readers haven't seen a collection of contemporary Mexican poetry since Mark Strand edited New Poetry of Mexico in 1970, observes Eliot Weinberger, distinguished scholar and translator of Octavio Paz, in his grounding introduction to this unique and substantial bilingual anthology. Since then, an entire "post-Paz generation" of poets has emerged, including the 31 gifted men and women showcased here, most writing in Spanish but some in indigenous languages. Spacious and accommodating, this work presents a generous number of gracefully translated poems by each poet, a felicitous in-depth approach that makes this much more than a sampler, and a sound decision given the poets' propensity for long, dreamy poems. Sensuality is ever-present, as is an intimate connection with nature, both classically pure and, in Efraín Bartolomé's poems, under assault. Gods of diverse cultures put in surprising appearances, and many works are metaphysical, although more personal realms are illuminated by Gloria Gervitz and Pedro Serrano, and Josué Ramírez discerns the cosmic on Mexico City streets. This is without doubt a landmark volume, but let's hope that it doesn't stand alone for too long. \ — Booklist\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalIn Mexico, poets are so highly esteemed that they are considered their country's cultural ambassadors. Many write for daily newspapers, and most are consulted for opinions about politics and social issues. In the United States, on the contrary, poets usually earn their livings as teachers and, "quarantined with [their] writing students," spin their creative wheels by writing to and for academia rather than to society as a whole. Ironically, anthologies of contemporary American poetry--frequently on bestsellers lists in Mexico--go, like the words of prophets, ignored in their own country. If homegrown poetry ranks low on the list of American pastimes, translations of Mexican poetry could rank even lower. De la Torre, a translator and coordinator of literature and visual arts programming at the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, and Wiegers, the managing editor at Copper Canyon, hope to change all that. This volume began as an exchange of poets between the United States and Mexico in 1998, sponsored by the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and the Academy of American Poets. Featuring over 30 contemporary poets (born after or just before 1950), this anthology is a fresh voice from the south of the border. The language and extended metaphors found in many of these poems are original enough to suggest one of Mexico's finest poets, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, or Spain's equally complex Baroque poet Luis de Góngora. Nevertheless, each poet's work is unique, and the syntax of the poetry is unmistakably modern. Many poets are award winners or recipients of Guggenheim fellowships. The bilingual layout is easy to follow; English translations match the original Spanish nearly stanza for stanza. An added feature is the section containing brief biographies of the translators. Recommended for poetry and Spanish-language collections in academic and public libraries.\ \ \ Publishers Weekly"Every now and then a word/ crosses the border... marrying another/ it is received hospitably,/ declining or serving as a shield:/ little by little words turn mestiza... The dark hued family of words/ produces a blond daughter." These lines from Antonio Deltoro's "Cartography" are among the offerings of Reversible Monuments: An Anthology of Contemporary Mexican Poetry. Edited by poet and translator M"nica de la Torre (coauthor of Appendices, Illustrations, & Notes) and Copper Canyon Press managing editor Michael Wiegers, this huge bilingual volume introduces readers to both lyric and narrative Mexican poets of varying backgrounds including indigenous poets writing in Zapotec and Mazatec all born after 1950. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalIn Mexico, poets are so highly esteemed that they are considered their country's cultural ambassadors. Many write for daily newspapers, and most are consulted for opinions about politics and social issues. In the United States, on the contrary, poets usually earn their livings as teachers and, "quarantined with [their] writing students," spin their creative wheels by writing to and for academia rather than to society as a whole. Ironically, anthologies of contemporary American poetry frequently on bestsellers lists in Mexico go, like the words of prophets, ignored in their own country. If homegrown poetry ranks low on the list of American pastimes, translations of Mexican poetry could rank even lower. De la Torre, a translator and coordinator of literature and visual arts programming at the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, and Wiegers, the managing editor at Copper Canyon, hope to change all that. This volume began as an exchange of poets between the United States and Mexico in 1998, sponsored by the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and the Academy of American Poets. Featuring over 30 contemporary poets (born after or just before 1950), this anthology is a fresh voice from the south of the border. The language and extended metaphors found in many of these poems are original enough to suggest one of Mexico's finest poets, Sor Juana In s de la Cruz, or Spain's equally complex Baroque poet Luis de Gongora. Nevertheless, each poet's work is unique, and the syntax of the poetry is unmistakably modern. Many poets are award winners or recipients of Guggenheim fellowships. The bilingual layout is easy to follow; English translations match the original Spanish nearly stanza for stanza. An added feature is the section containing brief biographies of the translators. Recommended for poetry and Spanish-language collections in academic and public libraries. Nedra C. Evers, Sacramento P.L., CA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \