Mexican Poetry: An Anthology

by Octavio Paz (Compiler), Samuel Beckett (Translator), Cecil Maurice Bowra (Preface by)

The renowned Mexican poet and critic Octavio Paz assembled this important anthology—the first of its kind in English translation—with a keen sense of what is both representative and universal in Mexican poetry. His informative introduction places the thirty-five selected poets within a literary and historical context that spans four centuries (1521-1910). This accomplished translation is the work of the young Samuel Beckett, just out of Trinity College, who had been awarded a grant by UNESCO to collaborate with Paz on the project. Notable among the writers who appear in this anthology are Bernardo de Balbuena (1561-1627), a master of the baroque period who celebrated the exuberant atmosphere and wealth of the New World; Juan Ruíz de Alarcón (1581?-1639), who became one of Spain’s great playwrights; and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651-1695), the beautiful nun whose passionate lyric poetry, written within her convent’s walls, has made her, three hundred years later, a proto-feminist literary heroine. This is a major collection of Mexican poetry from its beginnings until the modern period, compiled and translated by two giants of world literature.

Genres: Poetry, 20th Century, Anthologies

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature ("for impassioned writing with wide horizons, characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity.")

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the novel Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli, the young, upstart author-character buys an anthology of Mexican poetry compiled by Octavio Paz. When she reads it—absent-mindlessly, mind you—she finds it 'boring' and goes on to add that she suspects Paz of selecting friends or reputation-influencing poets in nepotistic fashion to populate his anthology. I had recently finished Luiselli's lovely novel when I happened upon this volume of Mexican poetry selected by Paz at a used bookstore. It was only a few weeks on a new job as a delivery driver, a job that takes me across multiple states in bite-sized solitude in my delivery van, and I had been briefly exploring each destination to mentally organize my days by which restaurants, scenic vistas, and—most importantly—which used bookstores I could stop at to relax and keep sane.

I'd like to believe that this is the same anthology Luiselli mentions, though I am dubious as this anthology covers several centuries of Mexican poets. Either way, I found this anthology to be, as Luiselli's character states, rather boring. Perhaps it is on no fault of the poets or their translator (I was also rather excited about reading translations by Samuel Beckett), but on my own unwitting desire to perpetuate the myth and bring the readings I held dear into fruition. This sort of thing would feel at home in a Luiselli or Vila-Matas novel, and that brings me some warmth I can smile upon. Finding this book was a much needed tingle of euphoria, the sort Alice would feel finding the hole leading to Wonderland; it's not the escape from her world into another but that a physical link between the two does exist. This is the sort of life preserver we sometimes need to be thrown in the sea of a long week.

Paz does not include any of his own poems, and it was nice to be introduced to a large collection of poets previously unfamiliar to me (Alfonso Reyes was the only name I had recognized in the table of contents). I am, however, slightly disappointed that the back cover of my 1985 edition hypes the inclusion of a certain poet who is not actually printed in the book. What a tease.

3/5

There is a note before the title page worth considering. It mentions this anthology was a collaboration between the Mexican government and Unesco, and that

Unesco asked Professor C.M. Bowra to introduce this book to the English-speaking public, and M. Paul Claudel to perform a similar service for French readers. Their essays should not be considered as prefaces or introductions in the usual sense. They are intended rather to emphasize the essential solidarity of creative artists in different nations, languages, centuries, and latitudes, and to point out the fundamental identity of emotions to which the genius of the poet can give a form at once lasting and beautiful.

[George Bieber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Six Stars! I really enjoyed this collection of poetry. Introduced me to possibly few of my new favorite poets that I will need to explore.
Lots of dog eared pages.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have heard bad things about this book. Paz was not allowed to use any of his contemporaries and Beckett made the iron clad decisions on who to keep, but its still a good rereview of poets here.

[Spencer Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the History of Mexican poetry in the beginning and really enjoyed several of the poets--notably Asbaje, Miron, Najera, Tablada, Martinez, Velarde, and Reyes. However, it felt like false advertising to call it an anthology of Mexican poetry when it is really an anthology of classic Mexican poetry that ends with modernism. The poetry started to get really interesting near the end, when the poets began to assert their own identities instead of copying the poets of their oppressors. Still, some beautiful poems here, and I learned a lot about the history of Mexican poetry. I'll have to purchase another anthology of contemporary Mexican poetry soon to complete my education.

[Victoria & David Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

we have an earkier edition