The Oxford Book of Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology

Sobre el libro The Oxford Book of Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology de publicado por Oxford al 2009:

Stretching back to the pre-Columbian era, this bilingual anthology presents in chronological order by birth date over 125 poets from throughout Latin America. Editors Vicuna, a poet and editor, and Livon-Grosman (Hispanic studies, Boston Coll.) sacrifice comprehensiveness for content: many poets who are not household names are included at the expense of fewer poems by heavyweights like Borges, Neruda, and Paz. Modern poets are emphasized over older ones, but women and indigenous poets are heavily represented. Each entry is prefaced with a brief biographical sketch and a list of major works; unfortunately, the poems do not indicate provenance. Many poems appear in English here for the first time; some of the translations were commissioned specifically for this work, but some other translators (e.g., Samuel Beckett, Elizabeth Bishop, and Allen Ginsberg ) are famous in their own right. The English translation is printed in verse, but the original is displayed oddly in run-on prose lines, with verses separated by slashes. Two introductions, one by each editor, present an overview of mestizo poetics and a general historical overview. VERDICT The most comprehensive, representative, and up-to-date survey in English of Latin American poetry, bar none.Lawrence Olszewski, OCLC Lib., Dublin, OH Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.