I'm Speaking: Selected Poems - Hardcover

Rafael Guillen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810118513 ISBN 13: 9780810118515

Publisher: Northwestern University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Rafael Guillen's poems are infused with the land and the people of Andalusia. He lays before us all the harshness and beauty of his country - the calm seashore and the violent revolutions, the wheat fields and the famine, the children and the laborers suffering through ""days like hot coals."" In light of this history, Guillen gives his words sharp edges tinged with a certain tender grief. A quiet force builds up behind the complex imagery and compact language as Guillen reflects on coming of age in Civil War Spain and situations of love, life, death, and faith in modern-day Granada, Paris, and the United States. Sandy McKinney, working closely with Guillen, accurately captures the unusual syntax and emotional tone of the work of this important Spanish poet. Included here is McKinney's interview with the poet where Guillen explains his connection to the tradition of Andalusian poetry, a proud literary tradition filled with a ""sensual delight in the beauty of particular words, in their sound as well as their significance.

About this title

About the Author

Rafael Guillén was born in Granada, Spain, in 1933 and still calls the city his home. His many books of poetry include La configuración de lo perdido: Antología, 1957-1995, Versos del amor cumplido: Antología 1956-1985, and Los estados transparentes. He is a major "Fifties Generation" poet, and his work has been widely translated. In 1994 he was awarded Spain's National Prize for Literature for Los estados transparentes after having been a finalist for the Critics' Prize.

From the Back Cover

Rafael Guillen's poems paint vivid portraits of the land and people of his native Andalusia. In sharp-edged words tinged with a certain tender grief, Guillen presents the harshness and beauty of his country-the calm seashore and the violent revolutions, the wheat fields and the famine, the children and the laborers toiling under the oppressive Spanish sun. Behind the colorful imagery and compact language a quiet force builds as Guillen reflects on coming of age during the Spanish Civil War and on love, life, death, and faith in modern-day Granada, Paris, and the United States.
Sandy McKinney, working closely with Guillen, accurately captures the spirit and emotion of this important contemporary Spanish poet.
"

Edition details

• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN 10: 0810118513
• ISBN 13: 9780810118515
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 105