Ruben Dario: Seleccion Poetica

by Rubén Darío

A collection of poems by the Nicaraguan poet who was the first Latin American author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Nicaraguan poet Félix Rubén García Sarmiento initiated and epitomizes Spanish literary modernism. Dario is in all possibility the poet who has had the greatest and most lasting influence in twentieth century Spanish literature. He has been praised as the prince of Castilian letters.

Reviews

[Edita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I was sadly, very sadly watching
the waters of a fountain rise and fall back.
It was at night, at a soft and silver hour.
The night wept. The night sighed. The night
sobbed. And daybreak diluted in its gentle
amethyst the tears of a mysterious artist.
And that artist was myself, mysterious, moaning,
mingling my soul with the waters of the fountain.

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dario evokes unity (Poem Autumn), but his best poems show hope and happiness giving way to melancholy and anguish in self (Nocturnes) and society (Columbus).

[Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still have problems reading poetry, but I can't deny the quality of this. I won't say it moved me, but it was close.

[Airácula · Rating 3 out of 5]

"¿Vienes? Me llega aquí, pues que suspiras,
un soplo de las mágicas fragancias
que hicieron los delirios de las liras
en las Grecias, las Romas y las Francias."

IDEM. Yo te entiendo, Rubén. Yo también estoy enamorado.

Todos los poemas exhiben una maestría digna de un, por ejemplo y comparación, Lugones.
Hay un preciosismo verbal que pinta mundos exóticos, que recuerda a los griegos y los une a los franceses. Un mundo en ensueño, un aire suave, amores orientales, princesas azules y hasta el Cid. En ese sentido, no se aleja mucho de su predecesor: "Azul..."
Aunque sí se aleja en cuanto a la ejecución ya que Prosas Profanas experimenta mucho con la versificación, de coplas, a seguidillas, a sonatinas, a Lays, de octasílabos a versos de Arte Mayor, alejandrinos y un florilegio de etcéteras.

Algunos poemas, sin embargo, en su ostentosa extensión y armatoste adjetival, caen pesados, necesito un alikal, me afectan como al que ingiere alimento en exceso.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this collection before I read Songs of Life and Hope (from the same translators, who include some of those selections in this book). The poems here offer a more rounded view of Darío’s career, and the introduction is more streamlined. I also suggest reading the introduction to Penguin's edition of Darío’s Selected Writings, although I have only read the introduction, not the book itself.

The Goodreads description of this book incorrectly calls Darío the first Latin American poet to win a Nobel Prize. That was Gabriela Mistral. Darío did not win a Nobel Prize. I have removed that from the Goodreads description for this book.

[Sandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a huge fan of poetry. I read this book as part of my culture research prior to travel to Nicaragua. Ruben Dario is a celebrity of Nicaragua. Many of his poems had nature or mythological themes. I had to look up a ton of vocabulary and stories to understand the mythological references - despite the book being translated into English!

[Natasha Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

hace mucho no leo ésta antología y, aunque algunos poemas más entraron a mi lista de favoritos, ninguno destrona en mi corazoncito A Margarita Debayle y Los motivos del lobo.

Mi lista de otros que me encantaron, para que no se me olvide:
Sonatina (un clásico)
Lo fatal
Nocturno
A Colón (1)
Pórtico (1)

[Andrea M. Cabarrús · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una selección básica del trabajo de este autor. Algunos poemas no los hubiera colocado en esta selección, pues hay otros, a mi parecer, mejores.

Un libro básico para un primer acercamiento a Darío...

[Bea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great palate cleanser from other readings, amazing bilingual edition. Adam Feinstein is a poet on his own. Enjoyed both Dario’s original poems, and Feinstein’s translations.

[Everett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing poems.

[EIJANDOLUM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love him. I love him. I love him. To death and beyond.