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Adios, Nicanor Parra
This is old news by now … that the great Nicanor Parra passed away on January 23rd. There have been obits and memoirs by journalists and translators, but the best reflection you’re likely to find is by the Chilean native, writer and translator, Soledad Marambio, which you can read here.Read More
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Poetry and Arms
This morning, after watching and reading about the protests over 43 missing students in México, intense resonance from Roberto Bolaño: Hills shaded beyond your dreams. Castles dreamt by the vagabond. Dying at the end of any old day. Impossible to escape violence. Impossible to think of anything else. Feeble men praise poetry and arms. Castles and birds of another imagination. What has yet to take shape will protect me. And here’s the original: Colinas sombreadas más allá de tus sueños. Los castillos que sueña el vagabundo. Morir al final de un día cualquiera. Imposible escapar de la violencia.Read More
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By the Way: Poem with Aside by Parra
Nicanor Parra (Fotografía: Pin Campaña) Jóvenespor Nicanor Parra Escriban lo que quieren.En el estilo que les parezca mejor.Ha pasado demasiada sangre bajo los puentesPara seguir creyendoQue sólo se puede seguir un camino.En poesía se permite todo.A condición expresa por ciertoDe superar la página en blanco.Read More
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Mexico Books 2009: Let the Truth Be Told
I promised in an earlier post to write about the second book I read in Mexico this year, Nicanor Parra’s After-Dinner Declarations. But every time I try to write about the book I get stuck: Parra’s book is brilliant but, for me at least, unsummarizable. The collection contains five long poems in the form of speeches, which Parra actually delivered on various occasions.Read More
Joseph Hutchison, Colorado Poet Laureate 2014-2019, has published 20 collections of poems and edited or co-edited three poetry anthologies. He currently directs two master’s-level programs for University College at the University of Denver: Professional Creative Writing and Arts & Culture Management. Joe lives with his wife, Melody Madonna, in the mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, the city where he was born. 
