An Absence of Shadows (Human Rights Series) (Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Marjorie Agosin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998 | Series: Human Rights Series (Book 6)

Arresting poems depicting human rights abuses in Latin America.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Published in honor of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations' Declaration of Human Rights, this bilingual volume makes available two of Agosin's out-of-print works: Zones of Pain (1988), and Circle of Madness: Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (1992). These and 16 new poems pay homage to "the spirits of the disappeared," mothers and children "immersed in silence" in Chile and El Salvador, and the Holocaust, "in the country of the dead." A prolific poet (Dear Anne Frank, LJ 3/15/98), Agosin has also edited collections by Hispanic women writers. Her graphic, psalmlike poetry, with deep empathy for the torture of political prisoners and women, chronicles a postmodern anatomy of grief. As mothers search for lost family members in "zones of pain," these emotional poems mourn the "nameless" dead where there is no "sanctuary in the truth." Joining anger and sadness with "the right to remember," this work "rings of hope."?Frank Allen, Northampton Community Coll., Tannersville, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

An Absence Of Shadows
Among The Pines
And Sometimes I Approach The Borders Of Insomnia
And Their Lips Began To Open Very Slowly As If They Were
And Then The Visionaries Made Altars. One Brought A Mother-of-pearl
And Then They Were Hurled Into The Dense Air, Someone Was
And They Were
Anne Frank And Us
An Apology
Aprons Of Smoke
As Gentle As Beginnings
Beloved Sister
Beyond The Dawn
The Blood Is A Nest
The Captive Woman And The Light: 1
The Captive Woman And The Light: 2
The Closets Have Remained Empty Forever
Could We Have Been Her?
The Dark Rooms
A Declaration Of Human Rights For Children
Disappeared Woman Iii
Disappeared Woman: 2
Disappeared Woman: 3
Disappeared Woman: 4
Disappeared Woman: 5
Disappeared Woman: 6
Dominga
El Salvador
The Eyes Of The Interred
Fear
Fear Ii
From The Cell I Outline The Trace
The God Of Children
The Hand
Have You Seen My Son?
Here Are Our Albums
How Does An Imprisoned Woman See The Light?
How Many Times Do I Talk With My Dead?
The Irascible Distinct Mist Peeks Through The Crevices Of The Garden
The Jacarandas, Spreading Their Scent, Charming Us ...
Kerchiefs
Like A Migratory Bird, She Unfurls Herself Among The Draped
Look
Luminous Sage
Memorial
Misty Letters
More Than Peace
The Most Unbelievable Part
Mothers Of Political Prisoners
Naked Girls In The Forests Of Barbed Wire
Napa
Night
The Obedient Girl
Once Again
The Patiently Name Them, As If Dealing With Legends
Poem To Be Recited In Dreams Of The Sea
The President
Processions
Prologue
Pupils
Questions
Remembering The Madwomen Of The Plaza De Mayo
Renee
Renee Eppelbaum
The Shrouded Woman
Sounds
Then He Asked Her
They Arose On Tiptoe, Intoxicated In Their Doom, And Each Footstep
They Begin To Move Slowly, Sluggishly, As If Someone Were Suspending
They Saw Her Grasp Her Own Waist, And The Friction From Her Hands
Torture
Transparent
Walking, She Is A Soliloquy, An Alchemy Of Life Itself, Erect
We Were Met
What Lies In The Depths Of Your Eyes?
When She Showed Me Her Photograph
When The Evening Light Burns
A Woman Waits For Her Dead In A Useless
The Yellow Flowers
You
Zones Of Pain: 1
Zones Of Pain: 2
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: White Pine Press (January 1, 1998)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 187772792X
• ISBN-13: 978-1877727924
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Latin American

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Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A passionate voice for human rights, July 20, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Absence of Shadows (Human Rights Series) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

"An Absence of Shadows," by Marjorie Agosin, is a significant volume by this important Chilean author. "Absence" contains the texts of two previously published volumes (1988's "Zones of Pain" and 1992's "Circles of Madness"), together with new work. The poems have been translated into English by Celeste Kostopulos-Cooperman, Cola Franzen, and Mary G. Berg. The book is presented in bilingual format, with the Spanish originals and English versions on facing pages.

In her preface, Agosin explains that this book commemorates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Agosin notes in the preface that poets "have become the voices that ask for compassion for the voiceless victims. They see beauty amidst the horror and find the courage to speak against injustice." The poems in this book exemplify this mission.

Some of the most striking selections in this book include "The Obedient Girl," about a girl who encounters the general who tortured her family; "The President," a bitter satire of military dictatorship; "El Salvador," the story of a Jewish woman from that troubled nation; and "Anne Frank and Us," in which the speaker notes that the iconic title figure "visits me often." I recommend this book to those interested in women's studies, Latin American literature, Spanish language poetry, or human rights issues.