Tarumba : the selected poems of Jaime Sabines / edited and translated by Philip Levine and Ernesto Trejo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sabines, Jaime.

Contributor:

Levine, Philip, 1928-2015.

Trejo, Ernesto.

Language:

English

Spanish

Physical Description:

xiii, 119 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Louisville, Ky. : Sarabande Books, 2007.

Language Note:

Parallel texts in English and Spanish.

Summary:

Jaime Sabines is a national treasure in Mexico. He is considered by Octavio Paz to be instrumental to the genesis of modern Latin American poetry and "one of the best poets" of the Spanish language. Toward the end of his life, he had published for over fifty years and brought in crowds of more than 3,000 to readings in his native country. Coined the "Sniper of Literature" by Cuban poet Roberto Fernandez Retamar, Sabines brought poetry to the streets. His vernacular, authentic poems are accessible: meant not for other poets, or the established or elite, but for himself and for the people.

In this translation of his fourth book, Tarumba, we find ourselves stepping into Sabines' streets, brothels, hospitals, and cantinas; the most bittersweet details are told in a way that reaffirms that "life bursts from you, like scarlet fever, without warning." Eloquently co-translated by Philip Levine and the late Ernesto Trejo, this bilingual edition is a classic for Spanish- and English-speaking readers alike. Secretive, wild, and searching, these poems are rife with such intensity you'll feel "heaven is sucking you up through the roof."

Contents:

Part 1 From Tarumba

"Tarumba, / Yo voy con las hormigas..." 4

"Tarumba, / I'm with the ants..." 5

"A la casa del dia entran gentes y cosas..." 6

"People and things enter the house of the day..." 7

"Ay, Tarumba, tu ya conoces el deseo..." 8

"Yeah, Tarumba, you're already on fire..." 9

"La mujer gorda, Tarumba..." 10

"The fat woman wears..." 11

"En este pueblo, Tarumba..." 12

"In this town, Tarumba..." 13

"A caballo, Tarumba..." 14

"On horseback, Tarumba..." 15

"Oigo palomas en el tejado del vecino..." 16

"I hear pigeons on my neighbor's roof..." 17

"Si alguien te dice que no es cierto..." 18

"If someone tells you it's not for sure..." 19

"Sobre los ojos, sobre el lomo, cae..." 20

"It falls over your eyes..." 21

"Estos dias, iguales a otros dias de otros anos..." 22

"These days, identical to other days of other years..." 23

"Quien sabe en que rincon del trago..." 24

"In what corner of your drink..." 25

"Te puse una cabeza sobre el hombro..." 26

"I put a head on your shoulders..." 27

"Aleluya!" 30

"Hallelujah!" 31

"Esto es dificil" 32

"This is difficult..." 33

"La primera lluvia del ano moja las calles..." 34

"The first rain of the year darkens the streets..." 35

"En que pausado vertigo te encuentras..." 36

"What a deliberate madness you feel!" 37

"Ahi viene un galope subterraneo..." 38

"Here comes the underground trot..." 39

"Cabalabula nuevamente..." 40

"Abracadabra again..." 41

"Vamos a cantar:..." 42

"Let's sing:..." 43

Esta la ceniza 46

Ashes 47

Con los nervios saliendome del cuerpo 48

With Nerves Trailing 49

Diario oficial (marzo de 70) 54

The Official Daily (March, 1970) 55

El estomago 56

My Stomach 57

Entresuelo 58

Between Floors 59

Hasta donde entra el campo...? 62

At Night How Far...? 63

Rodeado de mariposas 64

Surrounded by Butterflies 65

Me gustan los aletazos 66

It Pleases Me 67

Pensandolo bien 68

Thinking It Over 69

El que se quedo sin dientes 70

The One with No Teeth 71

La luna 72

The Moon 73

Pasa el Lunes 76

Monday Passes 77

He aqui que estamos reunidos 78

So Here We Are 79

Tia Chofi 86

Aunt Chofi 87

De Dona Luz (Primera Parte) 92

From Dona Luz (Part One) 93

De Algo sobre la muerte del mayor Sabines (Segunda Parte) 104

From Something on the Death of the Eldest Sabines (Part Two) 105

The Translator 119.

ISBN:

1932511482

9781932511482

OCLC:

68786772