I like this Julio Cortazar poem a lot, especially the last two lines. It is in his poem collection called Save Twilight. ( Salvo el Crepusculo) A good guide to Save Twilight here.
You gave me stormy weather
with just the shadow of your hand
across my face.
You gave me the cold, the distance,
the bitter midnight coffee
among empty tables.
It always started raining
in the middle of the movie,
and waiting amid the petals
of the flower I brought you: a spider.
I think you knew it was there
and enjoyed the awkward moment.
I always forgot the umbrella
when I went to pick you up,
the restaurant was always crowded
and on the corners they were hawking war.
I was a tango lyric
to your indifferent tune.
I thought you might like to have this
ReplyDeleteQuizá la más querida
Me diste la intemperie,
la leve sombra de tu mano
pasando por mi cara.
Me diste el frío, la distancia,
el amargo café de medianoche
entre mesas vacías.
Siempre empezó a llover
en la mitad de la película,
la flor que te llevé tenía
una araña esperando entre los pétalos.
Creo que lo sabías
y que favoreciste la desgracia.
Siempre olvidé el paraguas
antes de ir a buscarte,
el restaurante estaba lleno
y voceaban la guerra en las esquinas.
Fue una letra de tango
para tu indiferente melodía.
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You've asked me about spanish-speaking writers that you might like if you've liked Cortázar and Bolaño. Well, try with Silvina Ocampo's tales, with Gonzalo Celorio's novels and with Octavio Paz's and Juan Gelman's poetry. Ah, if you haven't read Juan Rulfo, his Pedro Páramo is a boom-literature classic. Ah, and one of Julio Cortázar's favourites, Leopoldo Marechal's Adán Buenosayres. I don't know which of these authors are translated to English.
Oh, I almost forgot Olga Orozco! If you can manage to get Eclipses y fulgores, then you really must read it. But I don't know whether she has had enough fame to be translated.
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By the way, for personal messages, I would rather that you used either my email or my msn, they're both somewhere in my profile. I promise I won't answer with spam.
Thanks atenea
ReplyDeleteI have read Rulfo and will definitely find out if the other books are available in English.
And, I have Save twilight in a bilingual edition, but thanks for the spanish version anyway.
yes, I will get in touch by e-mail soon, thanks for that!