Selected Poetry 1937-1990 (Wesleyan Poetry)
Joao Cabral de Melo Neto (1920-1999) was a Brazilian poet and diplomat from Pernambuco, one of the most influential writers in late Brazilian modernism. His work is marked by stark simplicity and rigorous poetic structure, addressing poverty and social inequality in northeastern Brazil. His landmark work Morte e Vida Severina (1956) is considered a masterpiece of social poetry. He received the 1990 Camoes Prize and the 1992 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.
Work Information
"The poems are subtle and wise, the work of a man who has seen much of the world and who knows humanity." -- The Hudson Review
The Camoes Prize, awarded jointly by Brazil and Portugal since 1988, is the highest honor in Portuguese-language literature. The 1990 laureate Joao Cabral de Melo Neto was known as the poet-engineer for his precise, emotionally austere verse. Serving as a diplomat across Europe while continuing to write, he drew on Andalusian culture and flamenco in his work. Major collections include Pedra do Sono (1942), Morte e Vida Severina (1956), and A Educacao pela Pedra (1966).
Review Summaries
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The bilingual English edition from Wesleyan University Press (1994) spans five decades of work and includes many poems translated into English for the first time, earning strong praise from readers.
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The New York Times Book Review praised the translations as remarkably true to the spirit of the originals. The Hudson Review called the poems subtle and wise, reflecting deep human insight.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Wesleyan Univ Pr
- Published
- 1996-03-01
- Pages
- 214 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 14.15 x 1.5 x 21.74 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780819522313
- ISBN-10
- 0819522317
- Price
- 2509 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Poetry/Caribbean & Latin American
Brings together a representative selection of the work of one of Brazil's most respected poets, including many poems published in English for the first time. This bilingual anthology brings together a representative selection from more than a half century of this distinguished Brazilian poet's lifetime work. Along with previously translated poems are many others in English for the first time. The remarkable group of poets and translators includes Elizabeth Bishop, Alastair Reid, Galway Kinnell, Louis Simpson, and W. S. Merwin.
Translator Djelal Kadir is Dolores K. and Walter Neustadt Jr. Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Oklahoma and editor of World Literature Today.