by Rubén Darío edited by Will Derusha and Alberto Acereda
Duke University Press, 2004 Cloth: 978-0-8223-3282-4 | eISBN: 978-0-8223-8544-8 | Paper: 978-0-8223-3271-8 Library of Congress Classification PQ7519.D3C2713 2004 Dewey Decimal Classification 861.5
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
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.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Rubén Darío was a leading modernist poet, renowned for his innovations in Spanish poetry. Born in Nicaragua, he lived in Chile, Argentina, and Spain. Will Derusha is Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Alberto Acereda is Associate Professor of Spanish at Arizona State University. They are the coeditors and translators of Selected Poems of Ruben Darío: A Bilingual Anthology.
REVIEWS
“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
“Will Derusha and Alberto Acereda give us a Rubén Darío that will be of immense interest to aficionados of poetry in Spanish, as well as to lay readers who have discovered the joys and pleasures of the likes of Federico García Lorca, Pablo Neruda, and Cesar Vallejo.”—Rafael Campo, author of Landscape with Human Figure
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Prefacio | Preface 48
Cantos de vida y esperanza | Songs of Life and Hope
I. Yo soy aquel... | I am the one... 54
II. Salutacion del optimista | The Optimist’s Salutation 62
III. Al Rey Oscar | To King Oscar 66
IV. Los tres Reyes Magos | The Three Wise Men 70
V. Cyrano en Espana | Cyrano in Spain 72
VI. Salutacion a Leonardo | A Saluation to Leonardo 76
VII. Pegaso | Pegasus 82
VIII. A Roosevelt | To Roosevelt 84
IX. Torres de Dios!... | Towers of God!... 88
X. Canto de esperanza | Song of Hope 90
XI. Mientras tenelis, oh negros corazones... | While you hold, O black hearts... 92
XII. Helios | Helios 94
XIII. Spes | Spes 100
XIV. Marcha triunfal | Triumphal March 102
Los cisnes/ The Swans
I. Que signo haces...? | What sign do you give...? 108
II. En la muerte de Rafael Nunez | On the Death of Rafael Nunez 112
III. Por un momento... | For one moment... 114
IV. Antes de todo, gloria a ti, Leda!... | First of all, glory to you, Leda!... 116
Otros poemas / Other Poems
I. Retratos | Portraits 122
II. Por el influjo de la primavera | Because of the Influence of Spring 126
III. La dulzura del angelus... | The sweetness of the Angelus... 130
IV. Tarde del tropico | Evening in the Tropics 132
V. Nocturno |Nocturne 134
VI. Canciion de otono en primavera | Song of Autumn in Springtime 136
VII. Trebol | Clover 142
VIII. Charitas | Charitas 146
IX. Oh, terremoto mental!... | Oh, a mental earthquake!... 150
X. El verso sutil que pasa o se posa... | The subtle verse that passes or pauses... 152
by Rubén Darío edited by Will Derusha and Alberto Acereda
Duke University Press, 2004 Cloth: 978-0-8223-3282-4 eISBN: 978-0-8223-8544-8 Paper: 978-0-8223-3271-8
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.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Rubén Darío was a leading modernist poet, renowned for his innovations in Spanish poetry. Born in Nicaragua, he lived in Chile, Argentina, and Spain. Will Derusha is Assistant Professor of Spanish at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Alberto Acereda is Associate Professor of Spanish at Arizona State University. They are the coeditors and translators of Selected Poems of Ruben Darío: A Bilingual Anthology.
REVIEWS
“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
“Will Derusha and Alberto Acereda give us a Rubén Darío that will be of immense interest to aficionados of poetry in Spanish, as well as to lay readers who have discovered the joys and pleasures of the likes of Federico García Lorca, Pablo Neruda, and Cesar Vallejo.”—Rafael Campo, author of Landscape with Human Figure
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Prefacio | Preface 48
Cantos de vida y esperanza | Songs of Life and Hope
I. Yo soy aquel... | I am the one... 54
II. Salutacion del optimista | The Optimist’s Salutation 62
III. Al Rey Oscar | To King Oscar 66
IV. Los tres Reyes Magos | The Three Wise Men 70
V. Cyrano en Espana | Cyrano in Spain 72
VI. Salutacion a Leonardo | A Saluation to Leonardo 76
VII. Pegaso | Pegasus 82
VIII. A Roosevelt | To Roosevelt 84
IX. Torres de Dios!... | Towers of God!... 88
X. Canto de esperanza | Song of Hope 90
XI. Mientras tenelis, oh negros corazones... | While you hold, O black hearts... 92
XII. Helios | Helios 94
XIII. Spes | Spes 100
XIV. Marcha triunfal | Triumphal March 102
Los cisnes/ The Swans
I. Que signo haces...? | What sign do you give...? 108
II. En la muerte de Rafael Nunez | On the Death of Rafael Nunez 112
III. Por un momento... | For one moment... 114
IV. Antes de todo, gloria a ti, Leda!... | First of all, glory to you, Leda!... 116
Otros poemas / Other Poems
I. Retratos | Portraits 122
II. Por el influjo de la primavera | Because of the Influence of Spring 126
III. La dulzura del angelus... | The sweetness of the Angelus... 130
IV. Tarde del tropico | Evening in the Tropics 132
V. Nocturno |Nocturne 134
VI. Canciion de otono en primavera | Song of Autumn in Springtime 136
VII. Trebol | Clover 142
VIII. Charitas | Charitas 146
IX. Oh, terremoto mental!... | Oh, a mental earthquake!... 150
X. El verso sutil que pasa o se posa... | The subtle verse that passes or pauses... 152