Poetry
Poemas de un joven
Not translated into English
Joaquín Pasos · 1962
Synopsis
The poems are arranged in six parts, following the plan the poet left: poems of countries he never visited; love poems placed under the title of a young man who never loved; verses written directly in the English he had taught himself; the pieces of “Mystère indien”, devoted to the indigenous world; pieces left outside this plan; and the long “Chant de guerre des choses”, written around 1943 and 1944, which closes the collection.
Context
The poet published no book in his lifetime. Around 1945 he put together a collection that appeared in Managua shortly after his death, in 1947, with a preface by Pablo Antonio Cuadra, and circulated only in Nicaragua. The fuller collection appeared fifteen years later in Mexico City, from Tezontle, under the title he had, it is said, wanted to give it, with an introduction by Ernesto Cardenal, who respected the sections the author had intended.
Who it is for
Poems in Spanish and, for one section, in English, not translated into French. The pieces range from verbal play and the calligram to the long, serious poem.
Prizes and reception
The long poem that closes the book is considered its author's most important, which he said was built on the rules of sacred eloquence, like a sermon.