Scarecrow & Other Anomalies [Paperback]

Oliverio Girondo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1879378213 | ISBN-13: 978-1879378216 | Edition: Bilingual

Poetry, Latino/Latina Studies. Bilingual edition; first English translation. SCARECROW is indescribable. It is so spectacularly original that even though alerted by advance notice, the reader will still be surprised by it more than anything else he or she might have ever read. "It appears that I am living,/ that I exist amid this noise,/That I can see these walls,/ that these hands are mine,/ but perhaps I am mistaken / and walls and hands/ are only things remembered / from a former life."

Editorial Reviews

Review

Girondo's "Scarecrow" stands alone as a one-of-a-kind, bug-eyed creation. -- Karl Kvitko, from the Anti-Preface of "Scarecrow"

About the Author

Oliverio Girondo (1891-1967) was born into a wealthy family in Buenos Aires. He studied for law, but did not practice it, preferring to experiment in literature. His chief publications are "Viente poemas para ser leidos en la tranvia" (Twenty Poems To Be Read on the Streetcar, 1922), "Calcomanias" (Decals, 1925), "Espanatapajaros" (Scarecrow, 1932), "Interlunio" (Lunarlude, 1937), "Persuacion de los dias" (Persuation of the Days, 1942) and "Campo nuestro" (Our Countryside, 1946), the last two being collections of poetry. This iconoclastic body of work is well represented in the present translation. His last book is the untranslatable "En la masdedula" (Into the Moremarrow, 1954), poetry at the far reaches of the mind. Girondo travelled widely and associated with avant-guarde writers in Europe and Latin Ameica. He founded the journal "Martin Fierro" in 1923, which ran for 26 years. At its close, he established the Martin Fierro Award to support young writers. He and his wife Norah Lange hosted a literary salon in the capital and presided as patrons of the Argentine arts and letters until 1964, when he was injured in a car accident. A generous man, Oliverio Girondo greatly benefitted the cause of imaginative literature in Argentina. Citation of his works in the film "The Dark Side of the Heart" (1994) created a sensation in Argentina and brought him belated world fame.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Xenos Books; Bilingual edition (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879378213
• ISBN-13: 978-1879378216
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,555,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Scarecrow does, in fact, Stand Alone ..., November 16, 2008

By 

Twisted Knickers Publications "Cheryl Anne Ga... (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scarecrow & Other Anomalies (Paperback)

This collection is a true literary feat of inspiration, awareness, and understanding - truly mind blowing.

I was completely stunned by this little book of, well, not stories actually, even though they had all the common themes: love, death, and suffering - all the divine comedies of life. But this book is so much more. It is a magnificent collection of musings, poetry, and little philosophical tidbits, all written with passion and a mind-altering precision, and most of all written with a very deep understanding of what it means to be human. From falling in love, to the disdainful duty of being a relative, to how one might long to embrace one's shadow, and the poetry, from and invitation to vomit at the hypocrisy of humanity - its dogma and self-pity - to poems that portray the incomprehensible beauty of the twilight hours. Lastly, I must mention the darkly humorous morsels of genuinely good advice: Don't floss your teeth with pubic hair.

Girondo stretches the imagination and exercises the mind. His writing is stunning, poetic, fluently disturbing, and yet, so full of truth. This is a must read for anyone who longs for understanding and for those who adore the thought-provoking surrealistic style - that is if you can confine Girondo to a style. This is a collection of genius, lovingly translated, preserving all of Girondo's ambiguities and subtle nuances. As a bonus, this collection includes the original Spanish text.

This is definitely one of those books you can and will return to over and over again.