- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Arte Publico Press (Jan 1 1997)
- Language: Spanish
- ISBN-10: 1558852042
- ISBN-13: 978-1558852044
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 14.2 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 172 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#648,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #98 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Carribean & Latin American
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
This bilingual edition, translated by a Cuban American living in Union City, NJ, is the first complete rendering of the classic Versos sencillos, written by Cuban poet and patriot Marti. One of the great political and literary figures of the 19th century, Marti lived most of his life in exile, conducting his struggle for freedom from the United States and several Latin American countries and finally dying while fighting against the Spanish in his native Cuba. This edition of a classic of Latin American literature is part of the effort of Arte Publico Press and the University of Houston to recover and disseminate the U.S. Hispanic literary heritage. Tellechea's excellent translation and introduction brings Marti to life for both Spanish- and English-speaking Latinos, and the modest price allows a wide spectrum of readers to become acquainted with or reacquainted with Marti's spiritual autobiography. Recommended for public and academic libraries.?Carmen J. Palmieri
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"... a work that is more an interpretation of Martí's essence than a strictly literal translation." -- The Miami Herald
"Tellechea's excellent translation and introduction bring Martí to life... Recommended." -- Library Journal
"Tellechea's excellent translation and introduction bring Martí to life... Recommended." -- Library Journal
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
I remember the first time I read Versos sencillos. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I remember the first time I read Versos sencillos. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An important achievement in Cuban literature,
By
This review is from: Versos Sencillos: Simple Verses (Paperback)
"Simple Verses" is a collection of poems by Jose Marti (1853-1895), the 19th century Cuban poet and revolutionary who spent many years in exile in the United States. This is a bilingual edition, with the Spanish originals and English versions on facing pages. The translation into English is by Manuel A. Tellechea. Tellechea also contributes an excellent introduction which includes fascinating biographical information about Marti. The poems are untitled; each is assigned a Roman numeral.Marti writes about romance, nature, family, and other subjects. Many of his poems are political and revolutionary in nature: he condemns Spanish colonial violence in Cuba, expresses his anti-slavery position, and identifies with the oppressed: "With the earth's poor everywhere, / I shall cast my lot" (poem III). In his marriage of poetry with politics and social justice, Marti foreshadows many of Latin America's 20th century poets: Gioconda Belli of Nicaragua, Roberto Sosa of Honduras, Juan Gelman of Argentina, and others, especially especially Pablo Neruda of Chile. Many of Marti's poems appear to be autobiographical in nature. Some of his poems are dark and macabre in tone, others prophetic and even ecstatic. He sometimes reflects on his own poetic work: "My verse is like a dagger / At whose hilt a flower grows" (poem V). His best work, as interpreted by Tellechea, has a compelling freshness and beauty. I only found one aspect of the book troublesome. Most of Marti's poems are written in four line stanzas, and in each poem he generally sticks to a constant rhyme scheme from stanza to stanza: ABBA or ABAB. But in his English versions, Tellechea sometimes mixes up the ABBA and ABAB schemes within poems, without any logical pattern and contradictory to Marti's originals; I found these switches very distracting. Still, this is an excellent volume by a significant figure in Latin American literary history. And the rhyme scheme issue aside, I commend and thank Tellechea for making these "Simple Verses" available in English.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews) 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A New Side of Jose Marti,
By Roland Gray - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Versos Sencillos: Simple Verses (Hardcover)
The thing that struck me about this book is that i always thought of Jose Marti as a sort of revolutionary firebrand. Reading this book, however, I realized what a strong spiritual connection he had with the universe. The poetry is what you would expect from a spiritual teacher like the Dalai Lama. This poetry demonstrates an aspect of Jose Marti's character I never before appreciated.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An important achievement in Cuban literature,
By Michael J. Mazza - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Versos Sencillos: Simple Verses (Paperback)
"Simple Verses" is a collection of poems by Jose Marti (1853-1895), the 19th century Cuban poet and revolutionary who spent many years in exile in the United States. This is a bilingual edition, with the Spanish originals and English versions on facing pages. The translation into English is by Manuel A. Tellechea. Tellechea also contributes an excellent introduction which includes fascinating biographical information about Marti. The poems are untitled; each is assigned a Roman numeral.Marti writes about romance, nature, family, and other subjects. Many of his poems are political and revolutionary in nature: he condemns Spanish colonial violence in Cuba, expresses his anti-slavery position, and identifies with the oppressed: "With the earth's poor everywhere, / I shall cast my lot" (poem III). In his marriage of poetry with politics and social justice, Marti foreshadows many of Latin America's 20th century poets: Gioconda Belli of Nicaragua, Roberto Sosa of Honduras, Juan Gelman of Argentina, and others, especially especially Pablo Neruda of Chile. Many of Marti's poems appear to be autobiographical in nature. Some of his poems are dark and macabre in tone, others prophetic and even ecstatic. He sometimes reflects on his own poetic work: "My verse is like a dagger / At whose hilt a flower grows" (poem V). His best work, as interpreted by Tellechea, has a compelling freshness and beauty. I only found one aspect of the book troublesome. Most of Marti's poems are written in four line stanzas, and in each poem he generally sticks to a constant rhyme scheme from stanza to stanza: ABBA or ABAB. But in his English versions, Tellechea sometimes mixes up the ABBA and ABAB schemes within poems, without any logical pattern and contradictory to Marti's originals; I found these switches very distracting. Still, this is an excellent volume by a significant figure in Latin American literary history. And the rhyme scheme issue aside, I commend and thank Tellechea for making these "Simple Verses" available in English. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not happy with the translation,
By Bobby Vinas - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Versos Sencillos: Simple Verses (Paperback)
I would like to note that my review score is not on Jose Marti's work, there are not enough stars for me to rate that. My score is based on the translation.Like the author, I am cuban-american. My primary language is english. However, I am very comfortable with spanish, both speaking and reading. I read Marti's work when I was younger. And now that I am older I wanted to revisit it. I bought this book to have the english translation to confirm my understanding of the spanish writings. I just finished the first poem and as I read in a review on another website, the english translation is more a distraction than anything else. I would read one stanza in spanish and then read the english stanza and my reaction was "Wait, what?" I searched for contact info on the web for the author to ask him what his intentions are in the translation. I imagine he wants a more poetic translation as opposed to a more direct translation, which I was looking for. I'll finish the book and update my review when I am done. However, so far I am disappointed with the translation. |
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