Product Description

Renowned for its depth of feeling and musicality, the poetry of Rubén Darío (1867–1916) has been revered by writers including Federico García Lorca, Pablo Neruda, and Octavio Paz. A leading figure in the movement known as modernismo, Darío created the modern Spanish lyric and permanently altered the course of Spanish poetry. Yet while his output has inspired a great deal of critical analysis and a scattering of translations, there has been, until now, no complete English translation of any of his books of poetry. This bilingual edition of Darío’s 1905 masterpiece, Cantos de vida y esperanza, fills a crucial gap in Hispanic and world literature studies. Will Derusha and Alberto Acereda have provided not only an elegant English translation of Darío’s work but also an authoritative version of the original Spanish text.

Written over the course of seven years and in many locales in Latin America and Europe, the poems in Cantos de vida y esperanza reflect both Darío’s anguished sense of modern life and his ecstatic visions of transcendence, freedom, and the transformative power of art. They reveal Darío’s familiarity with Spanish, French, and English literature and the wide range of his concerns—existential, religious, erotic, and socio-political. Derusha and Acereda’s translation renders Darío’s themes with meticulous clarity and captures the structural and acoustic dimensions of the poet’s language in all its rhythmic sonority. Their introduction places this singular poet—arguably the greatest to emerge from Latin America in modern literature—and his best and most widely known work in historical and literary context. An extensive glossary offers additional information, explaining terms related to modernismo, Hispanic history, mythological allusions, and artists and writers prominent at the turn of the last century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #910210 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04
• Original language: Spanish, English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From Booklist
Born in Nicaragua, considered a key player in the Spanish modernist movement, and acknowledged as an influence on many Hispanic poets, Dario has nonetheless been rarely translated into English. This bilingual collection surely will fill an overdue gap in Hispanic literature. Beyond that, Dario's work is multifaceted and thought provoking. It should appeal to those who admire Lorca, Vallejo, and Neruda, although Dario's style is a bit less lyrical, at least in translation. Many poems in the book praise and criticize artists, biblical figures, mythic creatures, literary characters, presidents, and kings. Themes include bearing witness to pain with the hope for transcendence, strong spirituality tied to a pagan connection to nature, and underneath, a Christian sensibility, a mythological sense of good versus evil, and a metaphorical view. Translators Derusha and Acerda have clearly worked hard to present the real Dario, an innovative writer worthy of further examination. Janet St. John
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"This book is a true piece de résistance . . . helpful and accessible to both the research scholar and the Spanish student." -- Naomi Millán, ForeWord

"[A] reliable Spanish text of the key work of Hispanic literary modernism's most celebrated poet." -- R.M. Fedorchek, CHOICE

"[Cantos de vida y esperanza] should be welcome to everyone who appreciates the search for . . . self-expression through art ." -- Charles Kargleder, The Latin Americanist

From the Back Cover
“Rubén Darío is one of the world’s most splendid poets and one of the least known, partly because his revolutionary and hybrid style is almost untranslatable. Delighted readers will finally have a chance to plunge into the great Nicaraguan poet’s masterpiece and sing with him of life and hope.”—Ariel Dorfman, author of In Case of Fire in a Foreign Land: New and Collected Poems from Two Languages

Customer Reviews

Wonderful poetry, thoughtfully translated
First of all, Rubén Darío's poetry is so immensely important and contemporary in its relevancy that I cannot believe this is the first quality translation of it!

Originally published in Spain in 1905, "Cantos de vida y esperanza" is one of the most important collections of Darío's poetry. He is widely considered the father of the modernistic movement.

For me to review his poetry would be folly- I believe everyone takes what they bring to the poem with them. I can tell you that his poetry has such an honesty in it that I cannot but help be moved by his plight... his plight as a human being :) something we all share, which is why his poems are great and immortal.
One of his most famous poems is "Canción de otoño en primavera"/Song of autumn in springtime. While I do not feel at liberty to reproduce the translation included in the book, I will give you a small sample of the poetry itself in case you are new to his writings or curious.

Juventud, divino tesoro
ya te vas para no volver
Cuando quiero llorar, no lloro...
y a veces lloro sin querer...

Youth, divine treasure
you have gone, never to return
When I want to cry, I cannot...
and sometimes I cry without wanting to...

Much of his poetry is very personal and moving. I love the pictures he can create with words, like in his poem "Canto de esperanza" Song of hope:
"Un gran vuelo de cuervos macha el azul celeste." A great flight of ravens stains the blue celestial sky. "Verdugos de ideales afligieron la tierra,/en un pozo de sombra la humanidad se encierra" Executioners of ideals afflict the earth/in a well of shadow humanity is encircled.
That is a very small sample of the wonderful poetry in this book.
(reminder, these are my lame translations-- not the ones from the book- the ones in the book are much better.)

This brings me to the book itself. This is *such* a quality edition. Not only does it have the poems in English and Spanish, their original language, but the editors have taken care to make sure they are the correct versions as well. The translators thankfully went for meaning, not rhyming. I detest translations where they try to keep the rhyming scheme. This RARELY works, and usually destroys not only the original author's meaning, but also makes the poem laughable in the target language.
The preface in this edition is wonderful as well- it includes many facts about Darío & his work, life and writings. Included also is a kind of glossary for the reader. Darío often uses references to classical literature and mythology that can leave the average reader scratching their head. Luckily this glossary answers all questions along those lines.

I was introduced to this book by my Spanish Literature professor, Dr. Albert Acereda who translated this collection of poetry along with Will Derusha. That said, mine is not a biased review- if I don't like something, I will not take the time to write a review on it. (unless it's so bad it actually pisses me off!)

You couldn't want for a better edition of this book- the poetry is timeless and the translations are flawless.

Bi-cultural, multi-lingual, North/South vision of Americas
in a carefully wrought and politically situated language of poesis that will not go away any day soon. This is a beautiful book carefully edited and annotated, well designed by Duke UP in English/Spanish interface-- a book that shows "nuestra America" is not in the hands of the rough riders and empire makers then or now, must reading for a poetics of poscoloniality situated in Nicaragua, Paris, Rome, and NYC...meaning the worlding world of poesis and vision coming out of the future in the 'afterlife' of real poetry. Abrazos and thanks...