Customer Reviews

The Cricket Sings

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a book of poems for adults remembering childhood. Poetic forms and "nonsense" rhymes merge with adult loves. Even in these "children's poems," Lorca's affair with the theme of death emerges, in poems like The Rider's Song:

Cordova. / Distant ... alone.

Black mare, big moon, / olives in my saddlebags. / Though I may know the roads / I'll never arrive in Cordova.

Through the plains, through the wind, / black mare, red moon. / Death is watching me / from the towers of Cordova.

Aii how long the road is! / Aii my valiant mare! / Aii Death that waits for me / before I get to Cordova!

Cordova. / Distant ... alone.

I don't particularly like Will Kirkland's translation. Frequently, he translates "Ay" as "Aii," when an English "Oh" seems more appropriate. In the example above, "Aii how long the road is" would read better "Oh, how long the road is." In many instances, the technically correct translation loses the poetry of the original Spanish. I wish more attention had been paid to retaining the poetics, even, perhaps at the expense of a literal translation. Maria Horvath's illustrations are quaint, reminiscent of a bygone era.

Five stars for content, four stars for translation & illustration. Don't get it for your children, get it for yourself. A great excuse to polish your Spanish!

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Lorca's poetry has this wonderful way of combining folk song elements with children's rhymes and underneath it all there is something very real and very moving. His imagery is wonderful and simple, his rhythm is unique, and there a genuine and beautiful melancholy to it all. Yup.

Fun to read with my daughter. She asks to hear the stories of the bugs that cry (actually a lizard). Great fun to read the spanish, with accompanying english; Kudos to the creative editor!