Selected Poems [Paperback]

César Vallejo (Author), Valentino Giannuzzi (Translator), Michael Smith (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 090756299X | ISBN-13: 978-0907562993 | Publication Date: September 15, 2006

César Vallejo is one the greatest poets of the twentieth century. His first publication, in his native Peru, was a book called "The Black Heralds", a fine collection of lyric poems in a largely symbolist style. This was followed by the book by which he is best known, "Trilce" (1922), which has become one of the monuments of the Hispanic 'vanguardia'. After "Trilce", now resident in Europe, Vallejo wrote stories, essays, a novel, and several plays, but did not collect any of his subsequent poems for book publication. Since his death, these poems have usually been referred to as the "Poemas humanos" after the title of one of the posthumous volumes. This Selected Poems draws on both of the volumes published by Shearsman Books in 2005: "Trilce" and the "Complete Later Poems 1923-1938", and adds to this selection a group of early poems from "The Black Heralds", thus giving an overview of the author's career and a sample of the whole range of his remarkable work. The translations are by the prize-winning Irish poet-translator, Michael Smith, and the Peruvian scholar, Valentino Gianuzzi.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cesar Vallejo was born in 1892 in the small town of Santiago de Chuco in northern Peru. He was able to attend Trujillo University and the University of San Marcos in Lima, although his parents were poor. In 1920 he was arrested while in his home town and accused of being involved in some political disturbances. Although he appears to have been innocent, he was imprisoned for several months and many of the poems in Trilce, his second book (1922), refer to this period, which was to have a decisive impact upon both his life and his poetry. In 1923 Vallejo went to Paris and in 1928 and 1929 he made two short trips to the USSR, which were to have a profound effect upon him. In the 1930s he became a militant communist, and was expelled from France, whereupon he moved to Spain. In 1933 he returned to Paris but again left for Spain at the outbreak of the Civil War, first to visit Republican territory and later to attend the International Writers' Congress. He died in 1938. His poetry written after Trilce only appeared in book form after his death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Shearsman Books (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 090756299X
• ISBN-13: 978-0907562993
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,756,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)