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A review by pattydsf
Gabriela Mistral: A Reader by Isabel Allende, Maria Jacketti, Marjorie Agosín, Gabriela Mistral
3.0
The Artist’s Decalogue
I. You will cherish Beauty, God’s shadow over the universe.
II. There is no art without God. Although you say you do not love the
Creator, you will affirm Him by creating His likeness.
III. You will not create beauty as bait for the senses, but rather you will create the soul’s natural nourishment.
IV. Beauty will not be your excuse for luxury and vanity; it is a divine exercise.
V. You shall not seek Beauty at carnivals and you will not bring your work to them because Beauty is virginal and what you find at carnivals does not belong in Beauty’s realm.
VI. Beauty shall rise from your heart in song, and you shall be the first soul purified.
VII. Your Beauty will also be called compassion and you will console the human heart.
VIII. You will give birth to your work in the same way that a child is born; by subtracting the blood of your heart.
IX. Your Beauty will not be a sleep-rendering opiate, but rather, a generous wine that inflames your actions. If you cease being a genuine man or woman, you will no longer be an artist.
X. You will walk away from each creation with a sense of modesty because it was inferior to your dream, and inferior to God’s marvelous dream: Nature.
I have had this book on my shelf for decades. At some point I read about Mistral and couldn’t find any of her writings in my local libraries. So I purchased this and read at it over the years. Thanks to the Book Riot challenge, I finally read the whole book.
I really like Mistral’s poetry. There were many poems, like the one above, that I stopped, reread and then reread again. Her language, even though translated is beautiful. I will continue to dip into these poems as I need to.
I did not find the prose as accessible. That is probably my fault – I know so little about Latin America.
I. You will cherish Beauty, God’s shadow over the universe.
II. There is no art without God. Although you say you do not love the
Creator, you will affirm Him by creating His likeness.
III. You will not create beauty as bait for the senses, but rather you will create the soul’s natural nourishment.
IV. Beauty will not be your excuse for luxury and vanity; it is a divine exercise.
V. You shall not seek Beauty at carnivals and you will not bring your work to them because Beauty is virginal and what you find at carnivals does not belong in Beauty’s realm.
VI. Beauty shall rise from your heart in song, and you shall be the first soul purified.
VII. Your Beauty will also be called compassion and you will console the human heart.
VIII. You will give birth to your work in the same way that a child is born; by subtracting the blood of your heart.
IX. Your Beauty will not be a sleep-rendering opiate, but rather, a generous wine that inflames your actions. If you cease being a genuine man or woman, you will no longer be an artist.
X. You will walk away from each creation with a sense of modesty because it was inferior to your dream, and inferior to God’s marvelous dream: Nature.
I have had this book on my shelf for decades. At some point I read about Mistral and couldn’t find any of her writings in my local libraries. So I purchased this and read at it over the years. Thanks to the Book Riot challenge, I finally read the whole book.
I really like Mistral’s poetry. There were many poems, like the one above, that I stopped, reread and then reread again. Her language, even though translated is beautiful. I will continue to dip into these poems as I need to.
I did not find the prose as accessible. That is probably my fault – I know so little about Latin America.