500000 Azaleas [Paperback]

Efrain Huerta (Author), Jim Norrington (Author), Jack Hirschman (Author), Efra'n Huerta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

In verses that fuse highly original imagery with exuberant rhythms, Efraín Huerta probes the cultures of both Mexico and "el Norte," from the impact of racism in Mississippi to political corruption in Mexico. Since he demanded for life and art the same freedom he demanded for politics, his poetry is often erotic. His poems are passionate outcries to love and justice, characterized by original metaphors and an acerbic wit that earned him the nickname "Crocodile."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a member of the generation of Mexican writers who came into prominence there during the Second World War, Huerta (1914-1982) possessed the rare skill of balancing the poetic craft with precise cultural documentation which is what makes this terrific compilation from Left Curve editor Hirschman seem so completely contemporary. An internationally projected set of prayers, elegies and invectives, this bilingual collection offers, for the first time, a substantial cross-section of Huerta's work in translation, gathered from the 15 books of verse published during his lifetime. Passionate, romantic and cutting in their social commentary, the poems are tempered by ruined delicacies, as in "Mississippi Nocturne," where Huerta writes, "and how the weeping of the river, a weeping of dirty eyes,/ continues its infinite dying beneath the tepid moon." Discussed in a biographical introduction from Ilan Stavans (On Borrowed Words; Forecasts, July 2), Huerta's political views (left revolutionary) are evident throughout the work, partly as a call to action, partly as a tribute to leftist leaders in the Americas and Asia, partly as recognition of the way his ideals have been corrupted or gone awry in practice. In a poem written after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., "This is Called the Burning Flames," he proclaims, "Hello, hello Vietnam, hello poet-priest Ho Chi Minh!/ Hi there, sister ash, brother finger, sister chins,/ hi there, dear Commander Guevara, truth-wind,/ assassinated column...." As in the complex ironies of those lines (well-rendered by poet-translator Normington), the genuine passion reflected in Huerta's ecstatic use of language never escapes a reckoning with reality a major source of its power.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...the geniune passion reflected in Huerta's ecstatic use of language never escapes a reckoning with reality..." -- Publishers Weekly

"Blood, anguish, loss, anger, love and fear--Huerta is a friend to all strong feelings." -- The Café Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Curbstone Books (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188068473X
• ISBN-13: 978-1880684733
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #539,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compendium of verses by a highly talented Mexican poet, September 6, 2001

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 500000 Azaleas (Paperback)

Ably translated from the original Spanish by Jim Normington, and deftly edited by Jack Hirschman into a bilingual format, 500,000 Azaleas: The Selected Poems Of Efrain Huerta brings to the attention of the American reading public a compendium of verses by a highly talented Mexican poet. With an original imagery replete with exuberant rhythms, Efrain Huerta probes the cultures of both Mexico and the United States as he ranges from the impact of racism in Mississippi to the political corruption in Mexico City. Phantoms: Trees, houses, bridges: phantoms./There's a heavy weeping mist,/stuck to the ground, thick, sterile,/monstrous and exhausting, a filthy mold.//Faces, legs, and hands: phantoms./And a frigid animal under the skin of the soul.//It's a world of lead, this Ohio world./Original dawn of lead and dirty petting.//Moans, kisses, laughter: Phantoms./Grey and green phantoms of desire and fear./It's like a phantom of my very self,/going off to die in the middle of a dream, right on course.