The Collected Poems of Octavio Paz, 1957-1987: Bilingual Edition (Paperback)

by Octavio Paz (Author), Eliot Weinberger (Author), Elizabeth Bishop (Translator), Paul Blackburn (Translator), Lysander Kemp (Translator)
Key Phrases: óyeme como quien oye llover, riman constelaciones, crustaceans rhyme, Central Park, John Cage, Chuang Tzu (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Paz, a cosmopolitan poet, is also intensely Mexican. In his lineswhether long and flowing or spare and chiseledsorrow and solitude are measured against the strength of his people and refracted through the prism of his gentle romanticism ("The world is born when two people kiss"). From India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and France, the poet-diplomat pens updates on the fragile state of the world. Yet if death is an ever-present reality in his poetry, so is hope. In addition to editor Weinberger, translators for this 800-page bilingual collection include Elizabeth Bishop, Paul Blackburn, Denise Levertov, Mark Strand and Charles Thomlinson. From the circular poem "Sunstone" (1957), modeled on the Aztec calendar, to the intense musings of "A Tree Within" (1987), Paz's poetry at its best is a seismograph of our century's turbulence, a crossroads where East meets West.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Libraries can choose between a collection that "contains in bilingual format all the poetry he has written since 1957" ( LJ 10/15/87) and a "a comprehensive selection . . . showing the range of Paz's poetic work" ( LJ 5/15/84). Sunstone, a major long poem written a quarter of a century ago, appears in The Collected Poems in a new translation. The publisher may reissue Sunstone as a separate volume in 1991.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation; 4th Printing edition (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811211738
• ISBN-13: 978-0811211734
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,836 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( P ) > Paz, Octavio
  #2 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Bishop, Elizabeth
  #13 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Carribean & Latin American

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sing the Voice Fantastico, August 15, 2001

By	M. Swinney "Marc My Words" (Flower Mound, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Octavio Paz has since passed through this world leaving behind a beautiful web of words with the tapestry of things seen and unseen. Paz does an ambidextrous job of mixing in elements of surrealism with the bone of natural objects and that which is very real. His, and the translator Eliot Weinberger ... along with the help of other poet translators to include Bishop, Levertov, Tomlinson--all of their words come alive with beautiful language. The translation seems true to the intent.

What is essential about this book is that each poem comes with the bilingual translation in English and accompanied by the original works in Spanish. Two years of high school Spanish, as well as two years in college, has rendered me with a woefully inadequate ineptitude of all words and understanding of that language. But I don't think that the translation can ever capture the sound, the alliteration, the true tongue/la lingua and fluid language that Paz meant in his original Spanish. Even if I don't understand a lick of what's on the left side of the page in Spanish at least it can be read for it's beautiful sound. Listen to this, "Through the conduits of bone I night I water I forest that moves forward I tongue I body I sun-bone Through the conduits of night" and then on the even-numbered page, "Por el arcaduz de hueso yo noche yo agua yo bosque que avanza yo lengua yo cuerpo yo hueso de sol Por el arcaduz de noche."

What are you doing still sitting here reading my crappy writing when you could be reading Ocatavio Paz? Go get the book...you'll see.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant, April 19, 2001

By	Robertomelbourne (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

Paz' poetry is sublime, and elegant. The words and ideas simply slip off the page. Its like taking a bath in chocolate.

Paz consistently suprises the reader with new ideas, form, language. Paz creates an atmosphere that is soothing, and enchanting. I would highly recommend this work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent poetry, March 1, 2006

By	Jasmine N. Lemaster "Jaz" (Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book after reading an excerpt of one of Paz's poems at a camp. I didn't know what poem it was from, so I bought the book and scoured it until I found the poem. It was Brotherhood. The poetry is beautiful and moving. It is the type of poetry you can read and enjoy no matter if you understand what it is saying, the writing is that beautiful