500000 Azaleas (Paperback)

by Efraín Huerta (Author), Jack Hirschman (Author), Efra'n Huerta (Author), Jim Norrington (Author) "Amor mio, embellecete..." (more)
Key Phrases: esa sangre, del alba, del silencio, Che Guevara, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
As a member of the generation of Mexican writers who came into prominence there during the Second World War, Huerta (1914-1982) possessed the rare skill of balancing the poetic craft with precise cultural documentation which is what makes this terrific compilation from Left Curve editor Hirschman seem so completely contemporary. An internationally projected set of prayers, elegies and invectives, this bilingual collection offers, for the first time, a substantial cross-section of Huerta's work in translation, gathered from the 15 books of verse published during his lifetime. Passionate, romantic and cutting in their social commentary, the poems are tempered by ruined delicacies, as in "Mississippi Nocturne," where Huerta writes, "and how the weeping of the river, a weeping of dirty eyes,/ continues its infinite dying beneath the tepid moon." Discussed in a biographical introduction from Ilan Stavans (On Borrowed Words; Forecasts, July 2), Huerta's political views (left revolutionary) are evident throughout the work, partly as a call to action, partly as a tribute to leftist leaders in the Americas and Asia, partly as recognition of the way his ideals have been corrupted or gone awry in practice. In a poem written after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., "This is Called the Burning Flames," he proclaims, "Hello, hello Vietnam, hello poet-priest Ho Chi Minh!/ Hi there, sister ash, brother finger, sister chins,/ hi there, dear Commander Guevara, truth-wind,/ assassinated column...." As in the complex ironies of those lines (well-rendered by poet-translator Normington), the genuine passion reflected in Huerta's ecstatic use of language never escapes a reckoning with reality a major source of its power.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"...the geniune passion reflected in Huerta's ecstatic use of language never escapes a reckoning with reality..." -- Publishers Weekly

"Blood, anguish, loss, anger, love and fear--Huerta is a friend to all strong feelings." -- The Café Review

Alabama In Bloom
The Bitter Root
Cantata For Che Guevara
Che
The Clamor Of Dawn
The Colony Hotel
Confusion
Dawn From A Star
Declaration Of Hatred
Declaration Of Love
The Drunken Girl
El Tajin
Elegy For A White Rose
Elegy For The Mounted Police
Grieving Song To The Catholic Church And To Those Accustomed .....
Here They Are
Juarez Avenue
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Love Commands
The Men Of Dawn
The Missing One
Mississippi Nocturne
The Murder Of A Poet While Sleeping
My Country, Oh My Country!
The Old One And The Gunpowder
Ominous Thought
Phantoms
The Presence Of Federico Garcia Lorca
Problems Of The Soul
Rain
The Red Horse
The San Lorenzo River
Sketch For A Last Will And Testament
Song
Song Of The Maiden Of The Dawn
Song To Mexican Petroleum
Syllables For The Jawbone Of Franz Kafka
Tame Hyperbole
Tenderness
That Blood
This Is Called The Burning Flames
Unfurling Of Amazements Before God
The Virgin
Widespread Betrayal
With Regard To Melancholy
-- Table of Poems from Poem Finder®

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Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Curbstone Press (October 1, 2000)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 188068473X
• ISBN-13: 978-1880684733
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,874,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A compendium of verses by a highly talented Mexican poet, September 6, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Ably translated from the original Spanish by Jim Normington, and deftly edited by Jack Hirschman into a bilingual format, 500,000 Azaleas: The Selected Poems Of Efrain Huerta brings to the attention of the American reading public a compendium of verses by a highly talented Mexican poet. With an original imagery replete with exuberant rhythms, Efrain Huerta probes the cultures of both Mexico and the United States as he ranges from the impact of racism in Mississippi to the political corruption in Mexico City. Phantoms: Trees, houses, bridges: phantoms./There's a heavy weeping mist,/stuck to the ground, thick, sterile,/monstrous and exhausting, a filthy mold.//Faces, legs, and hands: phantoms./And a frigid animal under the skin of the soul.//It's a world of lead, this Ohio world./Original dawn of lead and dirty petting.//Moans, kisses, laughter: Phantoms./Grey and green phantoms of desire and fear./It's like a phantom of my very self,/going off to die in the middle of a dream, right on course.