A Dive Into Latin American Poetry
After reading The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño, my interest was piqued.
On our last episode of The Novel Tea podcast, we talked about The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. We had a lot to say… read our newsletter from last week or listen to the full episode for more.
The Savage Detectives is heavily infused with references to Latin American literature, and poetry plays a big role in the overall plot. This got me into a mini-deep dive into Latin American poetry, and in this newsletter, I’ll be sharing a few translated poems that stood out to me.
Between Going and Staying
Octavio Paz
Between going and staying the day wavers,
in love with its own transparency.
The circular afternoon is now a bay
where the world in stillness rocks.
All is visible and all elusive,
all is near and can’t be touched.
Paper, book, pencil, glass,
rest in the shade of their names.
Time throbbing in my temples repeats
the same unchanging syllable of blood.
The light turns the indifferent wall
into a ghostly theater of reflections.
I find myself in the middle of an eye,
watching myself in its blank stare.
The moment scatters. Motionless,
I stay and go: I am a pause.
Bird Pablo Neruda
It was passed from one bird to another,
the whole gift of the day.
The day went from flute to flute,
went dressed in vegetation,
in flights which opened a tunnel
through the wind would pass
to where birds were breaking open
the dense blue air -
and there, night came in.
When I returned from so many journeys,
I stayed suspended and green
between sun and geography -
I saw how wings worked,
how perfumes are transmitted
by feathery telegraph,
and from above I saw the path,
the springs and the roof tiles,
the fishermen at their trades,
the trousers of the foam;
I saw it all from my green sky.
I had no more alphabet
than the swallows in their courses,
the tiny, shining water
of the small bird on fire
which dances out of the pollen.
Travel Gabriel García Marquez
«To travel is to leave home
is to leave the friends
is to try to fly.
Flying meeting new branches
walking roads
is to try to change.
To travel is dress as madmen
is to say «I don’t mind»
is to want to come back.
To return valuing the little
enjoying a drink
is the desire to start.
To travel is to feel poet
write a letter
is to want to hug.
Hug when you reach the door
missing the calm
is to allow being kissed.
To travel is to become worldy
is to meet another people
is to start again.
Starting offering your hand
learning from the stronger
is to feel loneliness.
To travel is to leave home
is to dress like a madman
saying everything and nothing with a
postcard.
Is to sleep in another bed
feel that the time is short
to travel is to come back!
—Neha
Up Next
Next on The Novel Tea podcast, we will discuss Danielle Daniel's historical fiction novel Daughters of the Deer. This book is an emotional dive into cultural differences, mother-and-daughter relationships, and love. The episode comes out on October 30th, 2024.
