Poetry
Taberna y otros lugares
Not translated into English
Roque Dalton · 1969
Synopsis
Short poems, political or intimate, on Latin America, fear, age, the Organization of American States or the condition of Salvadorans, then a long final poem, “Taberna”, which the author calls a conversation and dates from the U Fleků tavern in Prague, in 1966. Voices constantly relayed debate revolution, art, morality and violence, in a fragmented language of bar-room conversation; according to critics, the poet drew on exchanges overheard among young revolutionaries and workers.
Context
Written during the author's years in Prague, the collection received the Casa de las Américas poetry prize in 1969, which established his international reputation. The poem “Taberna” has five hundred and thirty-three lines and proceeds by collage: Diego Delgado Solís reads in it a carnivalesque space, a Prague tavern that could be any tavern in the West, where the established order is overturned. Critics see in this poetry a social weapon against the discourse of power. The publisher Ocean Sur has reissued it in a series devoted to the author.
Who it is for
Poems in Spanish, mostly brief, followed by a long conversation in several voices that is best read in one sitting.
Prizes and reception
The Cuban prize he received made the poet known well beyond Central America.
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