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lsparrow's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy this poet. Here words are so powerful.
I am not sure that I enjoyed the forward and commentary as much as the edition by Ursla Le Guin.
I am not sure that I enjoyed the forward and commentary as much as the edition by Ursla Le Guin.
themacchine's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
townsendme's review against another edition
4.0
“Death wanders demented,
walks drunken about the earth,
he tangles roads, twists fates,
plays drumbeats on the globe.”
-from The Farm Woman
walks drunken about the earth,
he tangles roads, twists fates,
plays drumbeats on the globe.”
-from The Farm Woman
br0kendolls's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
natyomora's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
eramostodosfelices's review against another edition
no lloramos viéndonos desnudos
no tiritamos de tanto despojo;
si tanto falta es que nada tuvimos.
no tiritamos de tanto despojo;
si tanto falta es que nada tuvimos.
jola_g's review against another edition
4.0
I am still under a spell of madwomen portrayed by Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), a Chilean poet and Nobel prize laureate.
'Portrayed' doesn't give the author justice, because she actually is every woman she depicts with compassion and empathy. As Czesław Miłosz observed, 'The purpose of poetry is to remind us how difficult it is to remain just one person, for our house is open, there are no keys in the doors, and invisible guests come in and out at will.'
Gabriela Mistral's 'guests' are the madwomen, locas mujeres. They don't seem mentally ill though. They just tend to be more sensitive, more fragile, more passionate than ordinary people. They see, hear and feel more, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. 'Madness' is not the only thing they have in common. All of them are lonely outcasts:
'I no longer recall how it was
when I lived with the others.
I burned all my memory
like a hungry fireplace.'
'For nobody she plants lilac
or prunes the azaleas
and carries water for nobody
in her looking-glass pails.'
Teodor Axentowicz, 'The Redhead'. [Image source]
In Mistral's collection you will encounter anonymous women whose fate is drawn in the titles of poems with a few brushstrokes only, for instance 'The Abandoned Woman', 'Prisoner's Woman' or 'She Who Waits'. Biblical Mary and Martha will be introduced to you too. You will also meet mythological heroines, known from classical literature: Cassandra, Clytemnestra, Electra and Antigone. Despite their origin, they are not marble statues. Quite contrary. You can almost feel their pulse, hear them weeping, find and lose yourself in their dramatic stories.
Gabriela Mistral's poems are very visual, they resemble paintings made alive:
'Love loved solitudes
like the silent wolf.
He came to dig his house
in the narrowest valley
and we followed his track
without asking to return ...'
'Our happiness is like
the honeycomb that hides its gold;
the honey with its heady weight
weighs on my breast,
and I go giddy, or grave,
I know and I don’t know myself.'
The author uses mainly natural, biblical, and classical imagery but transforms it in an original way. Her poems burst not only with images but also with heartfelt, strong emotions. Albeit they pulsate with raw yearning and intense pain, their form is structured with discipline.
The madwomen are overwhelmed by barely controllable emotions but the author skilfully tames them with tone and rhythm. I guess these poems must be even more musical in Spanish, with all due respect for the translator, Randall Couch, who did an impressive job. By the way, I've recently noticed that one of Mistral's books was translated by Ursula Le Guin. I'm expecting a delightful read.
Stanisław Wyspiański, 'Study of a woman'. [Image source]
Please, be careful and don't fall into the trap of apparent simplicity and naivety of these lyrical ballad-like 'stories'. You may be surprised to find out how powerful and moving they are. If you think that most poets are the epitome of narcissism and self-absorbance, you will be flummoxed by the author's invisibility in this book. Only the madwomen are in the spotlight.
I think no words can describe Gabriela Mistral's poetry better than her own: 'I start from an emotion that little by little is put into words, helped by a rhythm that could be that of my own heart. You will smile, knowing my tachycardia.... But aren’t many of my poems, especially those in 'Lagar', riding a runaway heart?'
Actually, the whole collection is a book of 'runaway hearts', described with tact, delicacy and profound understanding. Gabriela Mistral's words are breathtaking but sometimes lack of them means even more:
'And there’s no voice left when he falls in my arms
because it has all been used up,
and this silence is even stronger than the shout
if it leaves us like this, with our faces white.'
Teodor Axentowicz. [Image source]
'Portrayed' doesn't give the author justice, because she actually is every woman she depicts with compassion and empathy. As Czesław Miłosz observed, 'The purpose of poetry is to remind us how difficult it is to remain just one person, for our house is open, there are no keys in the doors, and invisible guests come in and out at will.'
Gabriela Mistral's 'guests' are the madwomen, locas mujeres. They don't seem mentally ill though. They just tend to be more sensitive, more fragile, more passionate than ordinary people. They see, hear and feel more, which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. 'Madness' is not the only thing they have in common. All of them are lonely outcasts:
'I no longer recall how it was
when I lived with the others.
I burned all my memory
like a hungry fireplace.'
'For nobody she plants lilac
or prunes the azaleas
and carries water for nobody
in her looking-glass pails.'
Teodor Axentowicz, 'The Redhead'. [Image source]
In Mistral's collection you will encounter anonymous women whose fate is drawn in the titles of poems with a few brushstrokes only, for instance 'The Abandoned Woman', 'Prisoner's Woman' or 'She Who Waits'. Biblical Mary and Martha will be introduced to you too. You will also meet mythological heroines, known from classical literature: Cassandra, Clytemnestra, Electra and Antigone. Despite their origin, they are not marble statues. Quite contrary. You can almost feel their pulse, hear them weeping, find and lose yourself in their dramatic stories.
Gabriela Mistral's poems are very visual, they resemble paintings made alive:
'Love loved solitudes
like the silent wolf.
He came to dig his house
in the narrowest valley
and we followed his track
without asking to return ...'
'Our happiness is like
the honeycomb that hides its gold;
the honey with its heady weight
weighs on my breast,
and I go giddy, or grave,
I know and I don’t know myself.'
The author uses mainly natural, biblical, and classical imagery but transforms it in an original way. Her poems burst not only with images but also with heartfelt, strong emotions. Albeit they pulsate with raw yearning and intense pain, their form is structured with discipline.
The madwomen are overwhelmed by barely controllable emotions but the author skilfully tames them with tone and rhythm. I guess these poems must be even more musical in Spanish, with all due respect for the translator, Randall Couch, who did an impressive job. By the way, I've recently noticed that one of Mistral's books was translated by Ursula Le Guin. I'm expecting a delightful read.
Stanisław Wyspiański, 'Study of a woman'. [Image source]
Please, be careful and don't fall into the trap of apparent simplicity and naivety of these lyrical ballad-like 'stories'. You may be surprised to find out how powerful and moving they are. If you think that most poets are the epitome of narcissism and self-absorbance, you will be flummoxed by the author's invisibility in this book. Only the madwomen are in the spotlight.
I think no words can describe Gabriela Mistral's poetry better than her own: 'I start from an emotion that little by little is put into words, helped by a rhythm that could be that of my own heart. You will smile, knowing my tachycardia.... But aren’t many of my poems, especially those in 'Lagar', riding a runaway heart?'
Actually, the whole collection is a book of 'runaway hearts', described with tact, delicacy and profound understanding. Gabriela Mistral's words are breathtaking but sometimes lack of them means even more:
'And there’s no voice left when he falls in my arms
because it has all been used up,
and this silence is even stronger than the shout
if it leaves us like this, with our faces white.'
Teodor Axentowicz. [Image source]
dayellew's review against another edition
4.0
These poems are absolutely incredible, and if the review was in regards to the Locas Mujeres poems alone, I would give it a million stars. The only reason I only gave it 4 stars is because some of the translations are not necessarily the most accurate, but this only became an issue for me because I was writing a deep analysis paper on the poetry for a class, and the translations were an issue. For casual readings the translations are extremely sufficient for getting the point of all the poetry across.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
This is a bilingual edition, in English and Spanish. I wasn't necessarily impressed by the translations themselves, but the inclusion of the original poems was excellent.