I love poetry, generally prefer poetry rich in metaphor and allusions, this set is more direct (though containing a number of nice mythological references)... But this slim volume is one of the most touching, sad and beautiful books I've ever read... I'll reread this a hundred times... and hope I find a love as deep.

In "Sorrow," Claribel Alegria has created poetry of great beauty and power. This is a bilingual edition, with each of Alegria's Spanish poems accompanied by Carolyn Forche's English translations. Forche has also written an introduction in which she explains how much of this book reflects Alegria's emotions over the death of her husband, Bud Flakoll.

Alegria's poems are emotionally raw, and graced with lyrical beauty and stunning imagery. Many of the poems in this collection revisit figures from Greek mythology: Ariadne, Circe, Sisyphus, and more. Particularly powerful is "The Reflections of Icarus," which re-imagines this character as a metaphor for poets. A number of other poems are short, haiku-like creations that examine both nature and the human world.

In the poem "This Is a Night of Shadows," Alegria writes, "My heart wishes / to burst with rage / but it sprouts wings." This memorable image is characteristic of her work. Alegria moves from tragedy to transcendence, and her work is rich in insight. This is an important volume by one of the great writers of Central America.

All the poems in this collection grew out of the the poet's grief when she lost her husband. Her voice comes from a space deep within and is immediate. The grief and pain in all the poems is devastating and all-encompassing, but transformative. Her sadness and sense of loss colors every aspect of her life, but then shifts and dissipates, lifting her to another place in space and time. It was so refreshing to read a poet who so beautifully acknowledges and expresses deep emotion.

Mario Benedetti, a Uruguayan writer, is well known in South America and Mexico. This is one of his rare collections available in English. This story collection presents a perspective not often used by US writers: that underlying paranoia, cycnicism, fatalism that anyone who has lived through the dictators and hyperinflation and tragic history of South America and Central America is well acquainted with. With recent events, many who have never had to live in fear are now faced with the kinds of dark powers that many others in our world have known for years. Notwithstanding the darker tone and sadness he evokes, the writing is superb and highly recommended.

"Benedetti is Uruguay's most important current writer."--Multicultural Review

"This superb collection...brings together tales of urban romance and political strife from the beloved Uruguayan writer. The fictions, most only a few pages long, are masterful in form, at once succinct and evocative. Many of the early tales...are reminiscent of Kafka-though with none of the weighty mood. Benedetti's language is light and playful..., full of humorous generosity to the reader." --Review of Contemporary Fiction

"What remains...is the singular and surprising nature of Benedetti's stories." --The New York Times Book Review

Uruguayan author Mario Benedetti, one of the most prolific and respected Latin American writers, is little known in the U.S.A. Of 50 years worth of fiction, plays and essays, the two novels published here are long out of print. This collection of 27 short stories should go a long way to bringing him the larger English-speaking audience he so merits.

Benedetti's early work (1940s and 50s) was rooted in and reflective of the middle class milieu of Montevideo. Like all successful regionalists, his keen eye and ear for local ideosyncracy could be bitingly on- target, while transcending the specific to express universal themes. The upheavals of the 1960s added a political focus that was sharpened when he was exiled (and his work banned) as a result of Uruguay's 1973 coup. His writings on political repression and on expatriate life display the same combination of dry irony and warm compassion as his earlier work; while themes change, there is a continuity of artistic vision.

Having enjoyed Benedetti in Spanish, I can recommend this collection. It offers a good cross-section, ranging from 1949 to 1987. I paid particular attention to translation on three of my favorites: "The Budget," a wickedly funny sendup of stultified bureaucracy; "Requiem Over Tea," a beautiful, sad story as told by a 13 year old; "Just Kidding," the chilling tale of a joke gone awry in the era of wiretaps and detention. Throughout, the author's original rythms, his strong sense of narrative voice, and distinctive use of vernacular came across very well.

Soltando Amarras Casting Off is a bilingual collection of Claribel Alegria's memorable poetry, presented in its original Spanish side-by-side with English translations by Margaret Sayers Peden. The verses flow with feeling and evoke emotion in their laments and quiet contemplation. Old Age: As my future/grows shorter/the past/when summoned/converted into now/traps me in its nets.

Habla de la cruda realidad politica de El Salvador, hace mension a los inicios de la guerra civil de ese pais, y aclara muchas versiones que por años han tenido cegado a los salvadoreños acerca de quien empezo la guerra.
Deja un buen sabor de boca ya que la escritura usa palabras no rebuscadas y que son de uso popular.
Excelente literatura

Alegria is the kind of woman I want to be when I am 72: vibrant, unabashedly sensual, sharp, and still in love with life. This collection of poems, in both Spanish and English translation, is a moving body of water. Alegria's poems send you roaring down a fast river, floating in the calm waters of the great, deep ocean, and dipping your feet in a trickling brook. Her sensuous words and intriguing subject matter make this book a staple in my collection. Alegria tackles love, aging, war, existence, and age-old stories with fresh perspective. Many of her pieces ("Letter to an Exile", "Galatea in Front of the Mirror") approach ancient myths from the perspective of women. She looks at stories told from the view of men, like Odysseus and Pygmalian, and twists them to see how the women involved reacted. The result is provocative feminist retellings of stories men protrayed as romance, but which she portrays as exploitive and abusive, in some cases. Alegria is from El Salvador, but is in exile. She often writes about the wars and coups she lived under as a child and fought against as an adult. These are some of her strongest pieces, and most beautiful. Alegria's works are simple on the surface, but bubble with passion. They are easy to read and understand, but are highly provoking and thoughtful. She forces you to use your brain and heart simultaneously while reading and in this book achieves a glorious collection of material worth rereading.

I'm on my third copy of this book now, having lost my two others to careless borrowers. Alegria's ability to combine prose and poetry, personal insights and political and social commentary, and sadness and laughter is extraordinary. You don't need to know Salvadoran politics to enter into the experiences of a girl and woman changed forever by the society she lives in, and to relate to them.

"On the Front Line: Guerrilla Poems of El Salvador" is, as the title indicates, a poetry anthology with a very specific focus. This book has been edited and translated by Claribel Alegria and Darwin J. Flakoll. Alegria is a distinguished poet who grew up on El Salvador, and Flakoll (who has since died) was her husband and longtime literary collaborator. Those who are moved or intrigued by this book should seek out some of their other work.

As the editors explain in the brief introduction, this volume brings together poetry written by Salvadoran revolutionaries who took part in the civil war against the government of that troubled nation. Many of the contributors are identified only by their first name and job within the revolutionary movement. The contributors include literacy teachers, political educators, and members of the guerrilla forces.

The poets in "On the Front Line" write about violence, literacy, economic struggle, love, and poetry itself. The tones of the pieces range widely: angry, ironic, determined, affectionate, hopeful. Some of the poems employ a Marxist rhetoric which some readers may find distracting, but that others may appreciate.

There are many standouts in this remarkable gathering. In "Pregnancy," by Lety, an expectant mother speaks with great tenderness about the child in her womb: "Mute astronaut / I sense your small life / sending me cyphered messages from your warm space." And "What Is Poetry?", by Eduardo Sancho Castaneda, is a brilliant and biting meditation on the art of poetry itself: "Poetry is subversion, it's a tree whose roots gnaw away at the rock."

Do the editors and poets in this volume have a political agenda? Yes, but this agenda does not take away from the power and value of the poems in this collection. And for that matter, don't most poets (and critics!) have "agendas" of one sort or another? "On the Front Line" is a fascinating and worthwhile anthology. If you are interested in poetry, politics, or Latin American studies, I believe you will find yourself enriched by this book.

Claribel Alegria of El Salvador is one of Central America's most important literary figures. "Thresholds" is a bilingual edition of one of her poetic works. This edition contains Alegria's Spanish originals, with English translations by her late husband Darwin Flakoll on facing pages.

"Thresholds" ("Umbrales" in Spanish) is a sort of mini-epic in poetic format. Its nine poem/chapters tell the story of a poet's embrace of her vocation. Themes in the book include transformation, initiation, family ties, and the encounter with nature.

What really makes the book interesting is its structure. Each of the nine poem/chapters is given a title that has a mythic, or iconic, feel to it: "The River," "Merlin," "Chalice and Fount," etc. Throughout the poems are many multicultural references: Rilke, Merlin, the mandala, Kukulkan, Auschwitz, Fafnir, Deirdre of the Sorrows, John Lennon, and more.

As I read each chapter, I was reminded of the Tarot, the system of illustrated cards used by many to attain occult wisdom. Each of Alegria's poem/chapters is like one of the Major Arcana (or key iconic cards) of her own personal Tarot. The book thus takes on a haunting metaphysical quality.

And "Thresholds" is, like Alegria's other work, marked by passion, political commitment, and startling poetic imagery. I especially love when she writes "I am the crow's eye / the persistent eye / scanning / fugitive instants of my time." I feel that our world is enriched by the presence of both Alegria's "persistent eye" and distinctive voice. This is an essential volume for those interested in Latin American literature, poetry, women's studies, and postmodern spirituality.