Duelo del Lenguaje/Language Duel

by Rosario Ferré

“El español y el inglés han estado en guerra desde que la Reina Isabel hundió la Armada Invencible en el 1588”, escribe Rosario Feré en “Duelo del lenguaje”, el poema que da t’tulo a esta colección; “los lenguajes llevan con sigo todo su fuego y poderío”.

Ferré explora las tensiones entre lenguas y culturas a través de esta colección de carácter controversial, que señala muchos de los dilemas a los que se enfrenta hoy una América cada vez más bilingüe.Estos poemas celebran tanto la antiquísima ciudad San Juan como las metrópolis más Miami, Nueva York, WDC. Pasado y presente, historia y sociedad se mezclan con una inmediatez sorprendente. Ola tras ola de conquistadores estalla sobre Norte América; un hombre de negocios bien vestido inesperadamente revela sus raíces cuando alguien le da un pisotón en el elevador del Ritz y suelta una maldición. Fotos instantáneas de los deambulantes que se desplazan por las calles de la capital, el cariño exuberante que siente un niño por su ciudad natal, los amantes cuya memoria perdura en el recuerdo, el rumor de la lluvia en el patio de atrás, que lava el he aquí algunos de los temas a la vez poéticos y cotidianos que se recogen en este libro.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

"English and Spanish have been at war since Queen Elisabeth sank King Felipe's Spanish Armada in 1588," Rosario Ferré writes in the title poem of Language Duel; "Language carries with it all their fire and power."

Ferré explores this tension throughout this explosive collection, which plays with the sensual differences between the languages and lays bare many of the complications facing an increasingly bilingual America.
In these poems, Miami is celebrated as a modern Tower of Babel and a place where the layers of history are particularly palpable. Wave after wave of conquerors wash across the Americas. A well-dressed Latino businessman inadvertently reveals his roots at the Ritz when someone steps on his foot, eliciting a profanity--in Spanish. Intimate snapshots capture the nameless heroism of homeless men, the exuberance of a child's affection for her hometown, and memories of lovers.

Genres: Poetry, Spanish Literature

193 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 2002

About the author

Rosario Ferré was born in Puerto Rico, where her father served as governor. She was best known for her novels and short stories. In 1992, Ferré was awarded the Liberatur Prix award at the Frankfurt Book Fair for the German translation of her novel Sweet Diamond Dust. She was a finalist for the National Book Award for her novel The House on the Lagoon in 1995.

Reviews

[Tea73 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only been studying Spanish a little over a year so this was a challenging read. While each poem has an English translation, some done by Ferré herself, they are not literal. Lines have been moved around and sometimes changed quite a bit. I particularly liked the poems where she struggles with her love of Spanish and her awareness, that it is the language of the conquistadors and has just as much colonial history as English. There's a lovely piece about being on an elevator and being invisible as being "other" until she says "excuse me" in the wrong language. Well worth reading and not just to practice/learn Spanish.

[Isabelle B.L · Rating 5 out of 5]

First discovered Ferré's work with The Youngest Doll—one of the best short stories I've ever read. Poignant, gripping and offering a reader an insight into the historical context in which she lived. I'm talking about her short stories and this welcome poetry collection, in dual language, covered various themes, notably language and identity which were beautifully expressed.

[Mary Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally began reading this book for a class and I was immediately in love! The poetry is stunning in both languages! It is an absolute must read 10/10!!!!

[Charleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, celebrated Puerto Rican writer Rosario Ferré confronts English and Spanish in a Duel. This book of poetry is very interesting, on the left pages we have the poems in English and on the right we have the poem in Spanish. The comparison is very interesting and it is fun to decipher which was the original language of the poem. It seems they were all written in Spanish first, but I'm not sure.

The translations into English are excellent and sometimes (rarely) the poem is better in English than in Spanish.

Some poems are really good, and others are well, bad amd boring.

I recommend this book because the comparison and contrast of the two languages is extremely interesting.

[Mary]

This is for my class.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a poet, Ferre is a great fiction writer. Though, I do appreciate the sentiment of her poem entitled "The Colonial Experience" which links the colonial struggles of Ireland and Puerto Rico.

[Stephanie]

I love bilingual books in general, but the clever interplay between these poems takes it to a new level!