Afro-Latin American Writers in Translation

Selected Poems

Rómulo Bustos Aguirre, Nohora Arrieta Fernández, Mark A. Sanders, Nohora Arrieta Fernández, Mark A. Sanders

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9780826364258
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Poetry
• Index: Literature

A poet of both the body and spirit, the work of Rómulo Bustos Aguirre often explores the nature of existence at the turn of the twenty-first century—humankind's relationship to itself and the universe, the meaning or purpose, if any, of human existence, and the daunting task of discerning that meaning. Critics have described his poetry as highly refined lyricism, metaphysical, existential, and at times erotic. Semantics of the World introduces the English-speaking world to the exciting work of Rómulo Bustos Aguirre, one of Colombia's most celebrated living writers. This selection of extraordinary poems, edited and translated by Nohora Arrieta Fernández and Mark A. Sanders, presents Bustos Aguirre's works in Spanish alongside their English translations and features the critical apparatus necessary for making Bustos Aguirre's poetry more accessible to students, scholars, and the general reading public. The volume offers the perfect introduction to Rómulo Bustos Aguirre and his poetry for critical and popular audiences throughout the Anglosphere.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Note on Translation
• Rómulo Bustos Aguirre Chronology
• Introduction. Semantics of the World
• El oscuro sello de Dios / The Dark Stamp of God
• En el traspatio del cielo / On the Back Porch of Heaven
• La estación de la sed / The Season of Thirst
• Sacrificiales / Sacrificials
• Muerte y levitación de la ballena / Death and Levitation of the Whale
• La pupila incesante / The Incessant Pupil
• Notes
• Additional Reading
• Works Cited