Synopses & Reviews
Eugenio Montejo was one of the most significant Latin American poets and essayists of the past half century. Montejo (who died in 2008) was awarded both the National Prize for Literature in his native Venezuela and the prestigious Octavio Paz International Poetry and Essay Prize. This long-overdue volume offers selections from all ten of Montejoandrsquo;s books of poetry, as well as a handful of exemplary prose works. All of the selections are presented here in the original Spanish, with translations in English by Kirk Nesset, a prize-winning American writer and poet.
Alphabet of the World reveals Montejoandrsquo;s themes and stylistic range as it charts his formal and emotional trajectory. The poems offer meditations on the subject of time, on the immutability of spirit, on eros and birth, and on the role of language in all things human. The book also includes excerpts from Montejoandrsquo;s Notebook of Blas Coll and Guitar of the Horizon, and three complete essays selected specifically for the insight and depth they lend to his work in both genres.
The bookandrsquo;s introduction situates and appraises Montejoandrsquo;s achievement, exploring the corpus comprehensively. Alphabet of the World marks a major stride toward winning Montejo the English-speaking recognition he deserves.
Synopsis
Volume 8 in the Chicana and Chicano Visions of the Americas Series A welcome bilingual anthology of a much-honored Venezuelan poet and essayist Eugenio Montejo was one of the most significant Latin American poets and essayists of the past half century. Montejo (who died in 2008) was awarded both the National Prize for Literature in his native Venezuela and the prestigious Octavio Paz International Poetry and Essay Prize. This long-overdue volume offers selections from all ten of Montejo's books of poetry, as well as a handful of exemplary prose works. All of the selections are presented here in the original Spanish, with translations in English by Kirk Nesset, a prize-winning American writer and poet. Alphabet of the World reveals Montejo's themes and stylistic range as it charts his formal and emotional trajectory. The poems offer meditations on the subject of time, on the immutability of spirit, on eros and birth, and on the role of language in all things human. The book also includes excerpts from Montejo's Notebook of Blas Coll and Guitar of the Horizon, and three complete essays selected specifically for the insight and depth they lend to his work in both genres. The book's introduction situates and appraises Montejo's achievement, exploring the corpus comprehensively for the first time in English. Alphabet of the World marks Montejo's U.S. debut, a major stride toward winning him the English-speaking recognition he deserves.
Synopsis
Eugenio Montejo was one of the most significant Latin American poets and essayists of the past half century. Montejo (who died in 2008) was awarded both the National Prize for Literature in his native Venezuela and the prestigious Octavio Paz International Poetry and Essay Prize. This long-overdue volume offers selections from all ten of Montejoandrsquo;s books of poetry, as well as a handful of exemplary prose works. All of the selections are presented here in the original Spanish, with translations in English by Kirk Nesset, a prize-winning American writer and poet.
About the Author
Kirk Nesset is author of two collections of short stories, Mr. Agreeable and Paradise Road, and The Stories of Raymond Carver, a nonfiction study. A recipient of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, he is Professor of English and Creative Writing at Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania.
Wilfredo Hern