The Selected Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca [Paperback]

Federico Garcia Lorca (Author), Donald Merriam Allen (Editor), W. S. Merwin (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2005

The landmark poetry of Federico García Lorca in a bilingual edition and introduced by Pulitzer Prize winner W. S. Merwin.

The Selected Poems of Federico García Lorca has introduced generations of American readers to mesmerizing poetry since 1955. Lorca (1898-1937) is admired all over the world for the lyricism, immediacy and clarity of his poetry, as well as for his ability to encompass techniques of the symbolist movement with deeper psychological shadings. But Lorca's poems are, most of all, admired for their beauty. Undercurrents of his major influences--Spanish folk traditions from his native Andalusia and Granada, gypsy ballads, and his friends the surrealists Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel--stream throughout Lorca's work. Poets represented here as translators are as diverse as Stephen Spender, Langston Hughes, Ben Belitt, William Jay Smith, and W.S. Merwin.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A testament to the timelessness and transcendence of Lorca's poetic work. -- EFE/Latin American News Agency

Lorca lives on through his imaginative poetry. A rich, bilingual selection of clear/ lyrical / intimate poems. -- Lovin' Life, Jeri Lynn Crippen

What a poet! I have never seen grace and genius...come together in anyone else as they did in him. -- Pablo Neruda

About the Author

Federico García Lorca (1898-1937) was born in Granada, Spain. A poet and playwright (Blood Wedding, The House of Bernarda Alba), he was killed by the Falangists in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: New Directions (May 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811216225
• ISBN-13: 978-0811216227
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Introduction to Lorca, January 24, 2009

By 

Tebes "Buchlieber" (Niagara Region, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Selected Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca (Paperback)

I have the Collected Poems of Lorca but I still return to this beautiful, compact volume time and time again. It is not that the Collected Poems dissatisfy me, no... I simply find most of my favourite poems in the Selected Poems.

It is in my opinion the best introduction to Federico Garcia Lorca's poetry. Here one can find 'The Faithless Wife', just as famous as Neruda's 'Tonight I Write the Saddest Lines' as well handsome selections from the Divan, Canciones, Romancero Gitano and his other works. I feel it was my first reading of 'The Faithless Wife' that inspired my interest in Lorca's poetry. It is spare, solemn, a poem thirsting for love, truth and sex.

W.S. Merwin's introduction and Lorca's brother, Francisco provide some background to the poet's life. The collection is 'collectively' translated by a sound handful of prominent poets and scholars: Ben Belitt, Rolfe Humphries, Langston Hughes, Stephen Spender, Edwin Honig to name just a few. I often find collective translations more satisfying as if the poet's voice needed an assembly of talented, careful scholars to piece together the great dynamic of the artist. This small book becomes a beautiful mosaic in their hands.

Highly recommended, easy to read, easy to approach but from there, you'll want to explore more of Lorca and of course, the next big step is the Collected Poems. A great beginning.

21 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, loud poems, April 5, 2007

By 

Maria Suarez (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Selected Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca (Paperback)

My husband used to read me this book when I was pregnant with my only child. The sound of the poems made her kick. Maybe the poems, but probably it was just the way he read them--in spanish--louder than he ever said anything. My husband never yelled, even when he was angry he just stayed by himself a bit, but he really used to get into these poems. From his childhood, I guess. He tried to translate them himself, but he wasn't very good at it. He would probably say these aren't very good either, no translation is your own after all, but I don't speak spanish, and to me these are close to the way he used to make me feel when he read them. Very lovely, and a little alarming.

I tried reading them to my daughter--she's having a baby in the summer--but it didn't really make anyone feel alarmed. I guess I need to learn to develop my own versions.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have, January 3, 2007

By 

Claude Tortorelli "ninoonin" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Selected Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca (Paperback)

This is the book that everyone who loves FGL must have. I even started to learn it in spanish.