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mg_in_md_'s review
5.0
When I first discovered the poetry of Federico García Lorca, I was immediately taken in by its beautiful language use. I was particularly struck by "Romance sonámbulo," which is included in the collection known as Primer Romancero Gitano (the Gypsy Ballads), perhaps Lorca's most famous collection. It remains my favorite poem of all time. While I had read some of the poems included in this book previously, most were new to me and gave me a renewed appreciation of Lorca's artistic brilliance and linguistic mastery.
This book compiles all of the known poems by Lorca for the first time and includes many poems not previously published. The collection is impressive, as is the quality of the translations. A dozen translators contributed to this work; their knowledge of Lorca and expertise with linguistic nuance were evident throughout. The bilingual edition allows readers to enjoy the original Spanish poems next to the English translations and compare the two versions. I enjoyed seeing how the works were translated and the word choices of the translators. Equally enjoyable are the Preface and extensive notes and bibliography at the end, which provide additional context for the poems and the times in which they were written.
I decided to use this book to check off two different categories for the reading challenges that I'm working on this year. For the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, I'm using this for "Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love." Just about any of the fourteen collections contained in this edition would work perfectly for that. For the Popsugar Reading Challenge, I used this for the advanced prompt "A book that's more than 800 pages." Weighing in at 1,056 pages, that seemed like a win to me. Knowing it would take me awhile to finish such an 800+ page book, I wanted to make sure that I picked one I would want to spend a lot of time with; this definitely checked the box in that regard.
This book compiles all of the known poems by Lorca for the first time and includes many poems not previously published. The collection is impressive, as is the quality of the translations. A dozen translators contributed to this work; their knowledge of Lorca and expertise with linguistic nuance were evident throughout. The bilingual edition allows readers to enjoy the original Spanish poems next to the English translations and compare the two versions. I enjoyed seeing how the works were translated and the word choices of the translators. Equally enjoyable are the Preface and extensive notes and bibliography at the end, which provide additional context for the poems and the times in which they were written.
I decided to use this book to check off two different categories for the reading challenges that I'm working on this year. For the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge, I'm using this for "Read a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love." Just about any of the fourteen collections contained in this edition would work perfectly for that. For the Popsugar Reading Challenge, I used this for the advanced prompt "A book that's more than 800 pages." Weighing in at 1,056 pages, that seemed like a win to me. Knowing it would take me awhile to finish such an 800+ page book, I wanted to make sure that I picked one I would want to spend a lot of time with; this definitely checked the box in that regard.
nogayourbroga's review
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
Once again, taking off points not because Lorca wasn't brilliant, but because I'm realizing you always lose something translating poetry. Some choices are inevitable, like whether or not you make a sonnet rhyme again or just translate the words (here they went with the latter), other choices are a bit more baffling. But none could detract from Lorca's rich imagery at the end of the day.
Note to self: brush up on your Spanish. This is one I gotta revisit.
Note to self: brush up on your Spanish. This is one I gotta revisit.
jamesflint's review
4.0
4.5
i didnt understand it all but thats just because of my level of spanish. some poems were ok, but others i didnt get.
[it wasnt actually this book i read either]
i didnt understand it all but thats just because of my level of spanish. some poems were ok, but others i didnt get.
[it wasnt actually this book i read either]
waywardtomes's review
I can't give a star rating because it would be unfair. I just went through and read the poems that stuck out to me the most and I was so lost. I know they're supposed to have meanings behind them or tell a story but I honestly didn't know what the point is for most of them. Poetry and me are not friends. There were 2 that I liked Some Souls on page 53 and My Souls Shadows on page 41.
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