Alfonsina Storni: Selected Poems [Paperback]

Alfonsina Storni (Author), Dorothy Scott Loos (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1986

Brings together a wide selection of poems by an important Argentine poet. However, this is not a bilingual edition, all of the poems are presented in English translation. Some recurrent subjects in Storni's poetry include nature, women's issues, family, sorrow, and the urban environment. The spectre of violence haunts many of her poems. In the first poem in this volume, Storni writes: I am like the she-wolf. / I broke with the pack. Perhaps this describes her own approach to poetry. At any rate, hers was a remarkable voice, and this is a fine collection of her work. Those interested in Latin American literature or 20th century poetry should seek out this book.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This collection is painful, disturbing, and rewarding. Freeman and three other translators transform Storni's razor-sharp poetry into English versions that invite constant re-reading. This is a poetry of fatal beauty that leads toward unavoidable death, but not before freeing the poet to leave everything she can behind..." -- Bloomsbury Review. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Marion Freeman, Editor --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 105 pages
• Publisher: Amana Books (September 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915597314
• ISBN-13: 978-0915597314
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,128,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A major voice in Argentine literature, April 26, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alfonsina Storni: Selected Poems (Secret Weavers Series) (Paperback)

"Selected Poems," by Alfonsina Storni, brings together a wide selection of poems by an important Argentine poet. This volume has been edited by Marion Freeman, who also wrote the brief but informative biographical introduction. Unfortunately, this is not a bilingual edition; all of the poems are presented in English translation. The translations are by Freeman, Mary Crow, Jim Normington, and Kay Short.

Storni's poetry covers a number of topics. Some recurrent subjects include nature, women's issues, family, sorrow, and the urban environment. The specter of violence haunts many of her poems. At times, her sparse but elegant language, combined with a dark tone, reminds me of the work of United States poet Stephen Crane. At other times, the combination of sensuous, startling imagery and emotional nakedness reminds me of the work of Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos.

Editor Freeman has selected poems from eight of Storni's published volumes, as well as a selection of uncollected poems. One of her most striking poems is "Litany for a Dead Earth," an apocalyptic vision of a devastated world. Also excellent is "Fog," which uses fascinating imagery to describe a cityscape. Striking imagery is also used in her "Portrait of Garcia Lorca": "The Andalusian hills / of his cheekbones / and the trembling valley / of his mouth / are smothered in climbing vines."

In the first poem in this volume, Storni writes, "I am like the she-wolf. / I broke with the pack." Perhaps this describes her own approach to poetry. At any rate, hers was a remarkable voice, and this is a fine collection of her work. Those interested in Latin American literature or 20th century poetry should seek out this book.