- Poet in New York

by Federico García Lorca

Paperback, 1990

Status

Available

Call number

861.62

Collection

Publication

Penguin Books (1990), Paperback, 304 pages

Description

"The definitive version of Lorca's masterpiece, in language that is as alive and molten today as was the original." --John Ashbery   Newly translated for the first time in ten years, Federico García Lorca's Poet in New York is an astonishing depiction of a tumultuous metropolis that changed the course of poetic expression in both Spain and the Americas. Written during Lorca's nine months at Columbia University at the beginning of the Great Depression, Poet in New York is widely considered one of the most important books Lorca produced. This influential collection portrays a New York City populated with poverty, racism, social turbulence, and solitude--a New York intoxicating in its vitality and beauty.   After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, poets Pablo Medina and Mark Statman were struck by how closely this seventy-year-old work spoke to the atmosphere of New York. They were compelled to create a new English version using a contemporary poet's eye, which upholds Lorca's surrealistic technique, mesmerizing complexity, and fierce emotion unlike any other translation to date. A defining work of modern literature, Poet in New York is a thrilling exposition of one American city that continues to change our perspective on the world around us.   "A worthy new version of a 20th-century classic." --Publishers Weekly… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
3.5 stars. I enjoyed what I understood and what I didn't understand was evocative in a gnomic way. As Lorca was a surrealist, there's a good chance I wasn't meant to 'understand' everything, which gives me some consolation.

I did enjoy the letters to home, which gave an insight into the man himself
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and his family relations. The footnotes showing his lapses of memory and occasional clear exaggerations and untruths were interesting.

I'm not sure that I'll seek out more of Lorca's poetry, but I will revisit this collection from time to time.
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Language

Original language

Spanish

Original publication date

1940 (original Spanish)

Physical description

304 p.; 7.8 inches

ISBN

0140184678 / 9780140184679
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