R L Velarde, 21 Poems

Ramón López Velarde (1888-1921) is widely admired as one of the outstanding figures of early twentieth century literature in Latin America. On the basis of his long poem 'Suave Patria' (gentle/sweet homeland) he is sometimes called 'Mexico's national poet'. His short life had a fin de siecle poignancy. Trained as a lawyer, he was swept up in the fervent passions of the Mexican Revolution, but was unable to commit his support because of his deeply conservative religious opinions. He died in 1921 aged just thirty-three, leaving a body of exquisite modernist love poetry mostly based on small-town life in the provinces, but reflecting also the tumult of those revolutionary years. His verse is sometimes grotesque and surreal in its imagery, sometimes self-deprecatingly comic, but often wonderfully tender. These twenty-one new translations are a charming introduction to this important writer who is far too little known in the English-speaking world. An introduction sets the scene of Vélarde's life and times, with notes on his stylistic background.The poems are partnered with delicate ink drawings by Christopher Chapman which beautifully capture the intense but often fragile mood of the writing.