AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: Early Poems, 1935-1955 by Octavio Paz, Muriel Rukeyser ISBN: 0-8112-0478-2 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Pub. Date: December, 1973 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)

Rating: 5
Summary: A great poet's early work
Comment: "Early Poems 1935-1955," by Octavio Paz, is an excellent collection of work from this important Latin American writer. This is a bilingual edition, with Paz' Spanish originals on each even-numbered page, and English translations on each odd-numbered page. The translations represent the collaborative work of several individuals: Muriel Rukeyser (who also wrote a foreword), Paul Blackburn, Lysander Kemp, Denise Levertov, and William Carlos Williams.

The poems in this book represent a mix of short, haiku-like verses; prose poems; and longer poems. Although Paz is a distinctive and original talent, some of his work seems to echo the spirit of such earlier poets as William Blake, Walt Whitman, and Stephen Crane.

Paz often writes about writing and language, often with a metaphysical, reality-warping perspective. His poems include a multicultural mix of interesting references: Polyphemus, Buddha, Tlaloc, the Tower of Babel, etc. He uses much striking imagery, and frequently his writing has a prophetic tone.

There are many fine poems in this collection, but I was particularly impressed by "The prisoner," his stunning homage to the Marquis de Sade: "The letters of your name are still a scar that will not heal, / the tattoo of disgrace on certain faces." If you are interested in Latin American literature or 20th century poetry, I recommend this book.