Synopses & Reviews
Antonio Machado (1875–1939) is Spain’s master poet, the explorer of dream and landscape, and of consciousness below language. Widely regarded as the greatest twentieth century poet who wrote in Spanish, Machado—like his contemporary Rilke—is intensely introspective and meditative. In this collection, the unparalleled translator Willis Barnstone, returns to the poet with whom he first started his distinguished career, offering a new bilingual edition which provides a sweeping assessment of Machado’s work. In addition, Border of a Dream includes a reminiscence by Nobel Laureate Juan Ramón Jiménez and a foreword by John Dos Passos.
from "Proverbs and Songs"
Absolute faith. We neither are nor will be.
Our whole life is borrowed
We brought nothing. With nothing we leave.
*
You say nothing is created?
Don’t worry. With clay
of the earth make a cup
so your brother can drink.
Born near Seville, Spain, Antonio Machado turned to a career in writing and translating in order to help support his family after the death of his father in 1893. His growing reputation as a poet led to teaching posts in various cities in Spain and, eventually, he returned to finish his degree from the University of Madrid in 1918. He remained in Madrid after the outbreak of civil war, committed to the Republican cause, but the violence finally forced him to flee. He died an exile in France.
Willis Barnstone is one of America’s foremost translator-poets, bringing into English an extraordinary range of work, from Mao Tse-tung to the New Testament.
Synopsis
Sweeping assessment of this monumental Spanish poet; includes reminiscence by Nobel laureate Juan Ramon Jimenez and foreword by John Dos Passos.
Synopsis
Poetry. Latino/Latina Studies. Translation. Antonio Machado (1875-1939) is Spain's master poet, the explorer of dream and landscape, and of consciousness below language. Widely regarded as the greatest twentieth century poet who wrote in Spanish, Machado--like his contemporary Rilke--is intensely introspective and meditative. In this collection, the unparalleled translator Willis Barnstone returns to the poet with whom he first started his distinguished career, offering a new bilingual edition which provides a sweeping assessment of Machado's work.
Synopsis
This sweeping assessment of Machado's work confirms his place as one of the twentieth century's great poets.
About the Author
Antonio Machado (1875 1939) was born in near Seville, Spain. When his fatherâs sudden death in 1893 left the family without financial support, Machado and his brother turned to writing and acting to support themselves. In 1899, the brothers traveled to Paris, where they found work as translators. Machadoâs reputation as a poet led to teaching posts in various cities in Spain. During the last decade of his life, Machado once again became involved with the theater, collaborating with his brother on a number of successful plays. Machado remained in Madrid after the outbreak of civil war, committed to the Republican cause, but the violence finally forced him to flee. He died an exile in France.Willis Barnstone was born in Lewiston, Maine, and educated at Bowdoin, Columbia, and Yale. He taught in Greece at the end of the civil war (1949 51), in Buenos Aires during the Dirty War, and during the Cultural Revolution went to China, where he was later a Fulbright Professor of American Literature at Beijing Foreign Studies University (1984 1985). His publications include Modern European Poetry(Bantam, 1967), The Other Bible(HarperCollins, 1984), The Secret Reader: 501 Sonnets,(New England, 1996), a memoir biography With Borges on an Ordinary Evening in Buenos Aires(Illinois, 1993), and To Touch the Sky(New Directions, 1999). His literary translation of the New Testament The New Covenant: The Four Gospels and Apocalypsewas published by Riverhead Books in 2002. A Guggenheim Fellow and Pulitzer Prize finalist in poetry, Barnstone is Distinguished Professor at Indiana University.Juan Ramon Jimenez (1881-1958) received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956.