One Moment: Poems

by Luis Muñoz, Idra Novey (Other), Garth Greenwell

From “one of the most brilliant poets of his generation” (El Pais, Madrid) Spanish poet Luis Muñoz’s debut North American collection, translated by Idra Novey and Garth Greenwell.

Sweet, surreal, and haunting, these poems examine both the frictions and elusiveness that can occur between self and others. The slowing down of time, the gentle observation of sunlight like “golden cookies on the bedspread” as you lie next to a lover. The feeling of solitude rendering you as small and still as a garbanzo bean, yearning as much for water and light as to continue being left alone.

Luis Muñoz is a beloved and critically acclaimed Spanish poet and One Moment marks his American debut. The poems within are presented in their original Spanish and in English, translated by acclaimed writers and translators Idra Novey and Garth Greenwell.

Formally inventive, at turns playful and strange, One Moment moves a kaleidoscopic eye from friends to lovers, one place to another, one moment to the next, the finite to the infinite. These are poems that delight in all the senses, and in the movement of the world around us.

Genres: Poetry

160 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication May 12, 2026

Reviews

[Mai H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

National Poetry Month 2026 #1

I'm not a Spanish speaker, but I love how each poem is laid out side by side in Spanish and translated English. As with all things of this nature, I'm not sure how much is lost in translation. I enjoyed a good number of the poems, but only loved one. It's about love, obv.

📖 Thank you to Goodreads and Washington Square Press

[emma renee]

This is a wonderful collection of poems, including the original work in Spanish and the translated work alongside it.

Some poems were more simple and others more complex, but they were all lusciously descriptive and served a clear purpose. Even the more straightforward poems made me think and didn't feel pointless.

I speak some Spanish and read what I could from the original poems and then read the English translations afterwards - and I found both to supplement each other well.

My favorite was The Quietudes, but some honorable mentions include Approximation and Love.

I would highly recommend picking this one up when it publishes in May. Thank you so much to Washington Square Press for mailing me an early copy!

[Richelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Critically acclaimed Spanish poet Luis Muñoz was new to my radar, as this was his first American debut. I appreciated that the original Spanish versions of his poems were included opposite the English translations. My husband, a conversational Spanish speaker, read several of the poems aloud to me and I appreciated the beauty and flow of the language, although I couldn’t understand what he said.

I do believe that some of the beauty of the poems was lost in translation. These poems seemed to be a collection of beautiful, everyday moments in written format. A few poems landed for me, but most sailed right past me, and I failed to understand what the author tried to achieve. I think others may get more out of these poems than I did.

The poems I liked the most in this collection were:
Springs
The Transformations
Love
K.
O.
The Quietudes

Many thanks to Atria Publishing and NetGalley for sending me a physical advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Taylor Franson-Thiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really lovely collection and great translations. Great breadth between the simple and subtle and intimate.

[2raccoonsinacoat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arresting collection of short poems with a few that made me gasp, but mostly left me feeling a bit lost.

Muñoz is very, very talented with his diction and I commend the translation for being able to get that across in English. His use of words, not just for imagery but for the way they struck in the verse, was wonderful. I think that Muñoz is a wonderful poet that a lot of readers could enjoy, but for me, the short, staccato style just didn’t resonate. Just as I was starting to get a feeling from the words, the poem would be over, and there wasn’t enough cohesion amongst the collection for me to really find my pace. The few I enjoyed I really enjoyed, but they were the longer pieces and were in the minority.

I think many people would find a lot to enjoy here, I just think I prefer poems that are longer or themes that are more centralized.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy (and my first widget!) in exchange for an honest review.

[Kim Novak (The Reading Rx) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was attracted to this poetry collection due to inclusion of the original Spanish language poems alongside the English translation, and this arrangement worked beautifully. I have limited Spanish skills, but I felt the original Spanish version rolled off the tongue more fluidly and sounded more linguistically appealing to me. Having the translated meaning to the poems helped me to understand the intent of each poem. A wonderful and unique reading experience!

Thank you to Atria Books | Washington Square Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

First and foremost I wanna thank Atria Books for gifting me the ARC of One Moment by Luis Muñoz on what I believe is his American debut.

This collection of poems give us a peek into life through the lens of carefully curated moments that seem to extend into a glimmering eternity. A work that is concise, assertive and filled with rambunctious luminosity that felt like a much needed respite from the world. With surgical precision, Luis Muñoz crafts verse after verse so electrically charged he leaves you wanting much more. Going through the pages looking for the spark and finding it each time as every one of the works contained in this book do not disappoint.

I have to say I read this collection four times, two in Spanish and two in English, just because I found it beautiful, refreshing, intimate and terrific. This is my first time reading Luis Muñoz poetry and I can say it won’t be the last. His poetic voice never misses a beat as he guides you through a range of feelings, emotions and sensations that will intrigue and confound you. But by end you will be able to feel the weight of his work clicking and see the fine line weaving every poem together.

I’m giving this one 5/5 stars. And just recommend it to everyone, who like me, loves short but striking poetry. I can’t wait to dive into more of his work.

[Roberta Inscho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Washington Square Press for sending me an ARC to read and review! I love that the original Spanish text is presented alongside the English, because it really enhances the sense of heightened language.

In this collection, Luis Muñoz explores light versus dark, intimate moments between lovers, and existence itself with a sense of ease and simplicity. The book is divided into three parts, almost like a three-act play, with each section offering its own framing of life’s elusiveness.

The first part, "Más Bien," feels hopeful, exploring these small, intimate moments between lovers or loved ones. My favorites from this section were "Convivencia," and "El Amo."

Part two, “El Modelo,” feels more ethereal, like slipping in and out of lucidity between captured moments. I especially loved this line from “G”: "The day is made of rubber bands with its questions stretched until..." and how the image of a stretched rubber band played with that feeling of time.

And part three, "La Criba," feels slippery, like remembering moments from the past. The titular poem, "Un Momento," shows up in this section, which is lovely. But one of my favorites was "Trasteando," which felt both playful and a little dark, and gave me a sense of a childhood memory.

One of the things I love most about poetry collections is their ability to resonate differently depending on when you read them. I think Muñoz’s work is timeless in that way, and something I’ll return to throughout my life and discover something new each time.

Overall, I'm a big fan of this collection and so grateful to be introduced to another new-to-me poet!
Thanks again to the publisher for sending me this early physical copy! All opinions are my own!

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never read the poetry of Luis Muñoz, I was drawn to this particular collection because of Garth Greenwell - one of my favorite writers and one of the translators of this collection. I was pleased to receive an ARC edition of Muñoz’s newest collection, Uno Momento|One Moment: Poems (Atria Publishing - Washington Square Press, expected May 12, 2026).

I very much appreciated the side-by-side presentation of Muñoz’s poems in both their original Spanish and English translations. Although my Spanish is extremely limited, I loved being able to go back and forth between the Spanish and English versions, which gave the poems extra extra depth for me as I read. I am always awed by translations that preserve the original meaning and beauty of the writing - and especially of poetry.

As with most poetry collections, I enjoyed some poems more than others. That always has to do with my state of mind, as a reader. I find that poems I particularly relate to one day may not even be on my radar another. For me, that is the gift of a poetry collection! You never quite read the same collection twice - even if you are reading the same collection twice. My favorite poems in this collection (for today, at least) were included in Section II, Model.

I’m happy to have had the opportunity to read a new-to-me poet during National Poetry Month.

Thank you to Atria | Washington Square Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The collection will be published on May 12, 2026.

4 stars

[Amanda Toomey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would more accurately be described as a collection of shower thoughts and strange ideas. It's modern poetry without meter or rhyme or any other pattern I could distinguish to classify it as "poetry" but until we've created a new term for these types of literary works, we're stuck at poetry. That is not why I gave it this rating.

* Good: There are some interesting thoughts here and some descriptive imagery being described that gives a clear picture of what the author was intending. I like the side-by-side over a translation only and believe it will be useful for those learning Spanish/English who are looking for something outside a textbook to practice with.
* Not-so-good: The line breaks don't make any sense and make it difficult to read, especially when they're excessive. The grammar/punctuation isn't used consistently, sometimes sentences just end without conclusion in phrasing nor in punctuation and the next line is unrelated. This may be an error on the part of the translator, but as I'm only a novice at Spanish, I can't judge it's grammatical quality.
*Bad: Half of these make no sense at all and amount to a seemingly random jumble of words/phrases without a cohesive theme. Section 2, in particular, was difficult to read because of this.

**I received this as a GoodReads giveaway.**

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thought it was super cool that one page was in Spanish and the other in English. Whether you just speak Spanish, just speak English, or speak both languages, I think it is a really nice touch. Even though I don’t know much Spanish, I still would sometimes look at what the Spanish words were, because they were right there.

I wish I could have gotten more into this book than what I did. I am trying to get into poems more, so I like to try new poetry books. This seemed like it would be a good one for me!

I’ll be honest I had no idea what was going on half the time with these poems. There were some beautiful lines and a handful of poems I really liked, but most of the time I was so lost. I could understand some of them, but most of them I had no clue.

It was written in an easy way to read so I could still get through it pretty quickly. Maybe people who read more poems than I do might understand it better.

If you like poem books or want to get into poems, this isn’t necessarily a bad one to read, it is just confusing. I wish I understood it more so I could get more out of it.

It wasn’t a horrible reading experience though! Just my personal enjoyment wasn’t super high.

[Cassie (eclectically.bookish.cassie) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll start with the caveats that 1. I'm not a Spanish speaker, and 2. I am not an avid poetry reader, but I do pick it up several times a year and took some classes as an undergraduate English major. That being said, this collection had a few standout poems for me, like: "The Moment's Questions in the Air" and "Love," but this did not bring the emotional resonance I expected based on the description and blurbs from other poets and authors printed on the cover. The poems were sparse and short, but in most of them, I struggled to find the cleverness described. A few lines will stick with me, like the the opening of the title poem's, "One Moment": "You're coming undone / too, isn't that right?"

Overall, I agree with the sentiment of this line fromthe poem, "Reading a Fourteenth-Century Poem Together": "It belongs / to whoever finds it. // It doesn't respond / if somebody, coming across it, / says 'obsolete.'" For me, I just couldn't find "it" in too many of these poems, but I'm certain other readers will and hope this collection will belong to them.

Thank you NetGalley and Washington Square Press for the digital review copy and print advance reader copy. Grateful for the opportunity to be an early reader.

[Michelle G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC review; thanks to Atria Books for sending this ebook my way and thanks to NetGalley. Pub date: May 12, 2026.

I have to be honest, I didn't get this at all. This is described as thrilling, fresh, brilliant, haunting, inventive, playful, surreal, and I only agree with surreal, but then again, I'm no poetry expert or connoisseur by any means, just a casual poetry reader.

This just didn't feel like poetry to me. I got nothing out of it, couldn't make heads or tails of most of the poems, and none of the lines really hit me when I could grasp what the poem was about or what was trying to be communicated through it.

I do love that this is bilingual, I really appreciated that as a native Spanish speaker and freelance translator who loves to see how something is transformed from one language to the next. I read both versions of the poems and often found that the English translations made me consider the poems anew, not that it helped with the fact that this didn't feel like poetry to me and I got nothing out of it, but still.

Overall, this wasn't for me, but I hope it finds its audience.

[Stacey ˗ ღ ˎˊ˗ · Rating 5 out of 5]

One Moment is a collection of poetry in Spanish and English that rocks the reader in gentle (and not so gentle) cadence of movement through growth and undergrowth. Color and texture process the work to its penultimate level, so the reader is going “with it/when it goes.”

Rooted in nature and the world around us, the poems tell us about the body and the way we collectively communicate. How we see differently in relationship, how we move past what changes us or become mired in it:

‘“‘Can we change?’
In an answer box…
‘Yes-No-Yes’”

“Tongues of moss
the water dancing
spreading beyond time
like the river
and us.”

There is contradiction of the threads of space and time woven together in human perception,
“It afternoons endlessly/ with the fervent spacious feeling / of a miniature”, “the thread in question / is the taut one, / limitless, / they’ll self-dissolve / in the end.”

This work was my introduction to Luis Muñoz. I am deeply moved, and hope to have the opportunity to explore more of his work. Thank you, Sr Muñoz, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the early copy to review.

One Moment publishes 5.12.26.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm generally drawn to narrative poetry collections that tell a complete story in verse. (As a fairly literal person, poetry can be tricky for me.) This collection is not that. It's sparse, taking small detailed snippets of passing moments and challenging the reader to make space for reflection. It's not what I typically read, but I found the poems accessible. (Slowing down to enjoy each poem was my challenge.)

I always love when a translation includes the original text. There is something about having them side by side that changes the feel of what's being read. The original anchors the translation, reminding us that everything is an interpretation—the literal words and how they impact us as well. Words are important, even if we don't understand all of them, and it's a gift to see how the words and shift and change on the page.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I typically don't accept poetry ARCs (unless they are clearly narrative stories), and I'm glad I made an exception for this one.

[Nathania Calae]

I don't want to be too harsh on this book because I read it at the wrong time - but I wasn't the biggest fan of it. I didn't find the poems to be breathtaking or relatable. I'm not a big poetry reader, so that definitely could've played a role in this, but they felt very 'instagram-level' poetry. It was short and sweet, but definitely meant for Pinterest boards and Instagram posts.

Another issue is maybe the translation. I think that having both the Spanish and English next to each other helped. I think the original text was definitely better, but I think my opinion still stands. I wanted to enjoy this, but it took me super long to read, and it doesn't feel like this was truly worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an arc copy in exchange for my review!

[Jaida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Thank you Netgalley, Atria and Washington Square Press for this ARC!

This collection immediately brings the reader into the togetherness— or rather connectedness we see the speakers engage in. At the same time there is an emphasis on solitude and connection with the self.

The reader will be able to see the motif of change and the focus on a specific moment in time that the poet paints through intense imagery.

Muñoz is intentional and explicit with his descriptions. The collection translates beautifully between the languages of English and Spanish. I couldn’t help but read poems in both languages, and they complimented one another.

Greenwell and Novey did an amazing job in encompassing the beauty of Spanish and Muñoz’s own use of language.

We need more translated poetry. This is truly a collection that makes that clear!

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early review copy.

I love reading new poetry, and I was honored when the publisher offered me this early eGalley.  But I'm afraid I didn't really understand it.  I love short, punchy poems, and at first glance this looked like my "thing" but I never really knew what each poem was talking about.  Maybe it's a translation miss.   This collection includes the original Spanish, and I can read a bit but I am not fluent, so I cannot be certain if the translations are capturing the feeling of the originals, but I think they are.

Each poem is a beautiful, small, thoughtful moment, but nothing more than that.  I wanted more.

SPRINGS
A fountain 
unlike any 
I’d seen before 
and yet the same 
as the one flowing 
when I’d yet to behold any.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m loving reading more poetry! One Moment by Luis Muñoz translated from the Spanish by Idra Novey and Garth Greenwell is an enjoyable collection of poems. I really appreciated that the original Spanish poems are included. I liked the moments discussing time and nature. I loved these lines in Reading a Fourteenth-Century Poem Together: “It dawns, it dusks, and above all it afternoons endlessly,” and my fave poem in this book is Like a Cylinder. I’d be interested to read reviews from readers who could read both the Spanish and English poems.

Thank you to Washington Square Press via NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Hollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Atria and Netgalley for this ARC. This review is my honest opinion.

2026 is the year I dive back into poetry so I was very excited to read this collection. I loved that we got to see the poem in its original Spanish and then in English. While I can safely say I didn’t understand every poem that I read, I did enjoy a lot of them. These are short bite size poems that lend themselves to being re-read to fully grasp them. I particularly enjoyed “Love,” “P,” “Like a Cylinder,” and “A Self-Assignment.” If you’re like me dipping your toes back into poetry. I recommend this collection.

[Brianas.bookhaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I’ve read some poems. Honestly, I missed them. I love that each poem was in Spanish but also translated to English. I did enjoy trying to see if my Spanish skills from high school kicked in. Sadly, it didn’t, but I was able to understand some. But of course, I then rushed to the translated side to get it all.

My favorite poems in here were Sooner Than Later, & Love.

Thank you Atria Books for the copy.

[Rhiley Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

An artfully written short bilingual poetry collection focused on train-of-thought and love poems.

I really, really enjoyed this collection! It was a breath of fresh air with all of its short, sweet poems. Not too modern ("Modern" as in using grotesque language that sounds rather childish, which I've seen some poets do-) or trying too hard.

They were all a delight!

Thank you to NetGalley for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think there are some really solid poems in this collection but as a whole it didn’t move me. Some felt a little too concise and surface level but because of that I kept on wondering if I would’ve enjoyed them more in Spanish had I been fluent. That being said I would read something by Muñoz again.

3 stars.

Thank you Netgalley, Atria Books, Washington Square Press, and Luis Muñoz for sending me this advanced review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lovely collection of poems. I loved that the original poems in Spanish were included along with the translated poems. The poems were a mix of simple and complex pieces. I'm a latina and fluent in Spanish so it was nice to be able to read both the Spanish and English poems. Overall, the translations were solid. However, I do believe that the poems in Spanish flowed better.

*Thank you, NetGalley, for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poetry in translation
This was different. Half of the poems made absolutely no sense to me. It seemed like word vomit with the authors favorite words and phrases. A lot of metaphors for greenery and skies and roses. However, a few of the poems were beautiful and I highlighted them!! This was my first ever physical ARC and I am so lucky I got to read it in advance!! Thank you to Washington Square Press.

[Iz]

A detailed collection of poetry with short stanzas and lines that is a bit different than what I typically gravitate toward. Each poem reads like a small thought or look into someone's mind. I was drawn to the poetry as a way to also practice my Spanish comprehension; I appreciate each poem having both the original Spanish and translated English versions and will definitely take a closer look in the future.

Thank you to Atria Books and Washigton Square Press for an ARC

[Sammie Bridger-Mullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems of this book though half in Spanish (which I cannot read) were very touching and beautiful!! They put my mind to work and made me think about all the different meanings they could have. I did my best with the Spanish but was in awe of the translation of each poem into English. This is an amazing collection of poems.

[Soledad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely collection! As a bilingual speaker, it was nice to have the original poem and then the translation after! It's always interesting to see how a poem translates from its original language. Some I preferred in Spanish compared to the English translation. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the eARC!

[literarily.ryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for the arc!

I really enjoyed this collection. I think my favorite was "The Fears" because that last stanza hit me like a gut punch. I also really appreciate that the Spanish was included!

[Charnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the impact of these poems might be lost in translation. I did enjoy the “Love” poem the most. I’ve re-read that one a few times and sat with it.

Thankful to the publisher, Washington Square Press, for my arc