Corazon de hojalata: Tin Heart

by Margarita Saona

Corazón de hojalata recoge poemas escritos desde la experiencia del fallo cardiaco, la cirugía, la cercanía de la muerte, un transplante de corazón y otras situaciones extremas. Margarita Saona confronta el dolor, la alienación, el amor y la otredad impuestas por el cuerpo enfermo desde un lenguaje en el que la intensidad, las imágenes y el ritmo no toman distancia de la cotidianidad de las palabras Tin Heart brings together a series of poems born out the experience of cardiac failure, surgery, the proximity of death, a heart transplant, and other extreme situations. Margarita Saona confronts the pain, alienation, love, and otherness imposed by an infirm body with a language in which intensity, imagery, and rhythm do not detract from the simplicity of everyday words.

64 pages, Paperback

Published June 12, 2017

Reviews

[Vivianette Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

for class

“Ella me daría su corazón, pero todavía no termina con la vida. La muerte pasa, me dicen, pero, amando la vida, ¿cómo le puedo desear la muerte justamente a la que hoy ama con un corazón que combina con el mío?”

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by a friend of mine who had a sudden cardiac illness, an artificial heart pump, and then received a heart transplant. This book of poems captures so much of the internal struggle that comes with facing hard times and uncertainty. While transplantation is an amazing feat of science, knowing your life is extended because someone else's is extinguished is something that must be wrestled with and she does so beautifully. I find myself wishing I understood Spanish so I could enjoy the poems in both languages.

[JoBeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most astounding books of poetry I've read. Margarita Saona shares her hearts - the old one which betrays her body, the new one, the product of another death. What is it like to wait for a heart donor, so that your life can go on? "She would give me her heart,/but she is not done with life./Death happens,/I've been told/but, loving life,/how can I wish death/precisely for the one/who today loves/with a heart/that matches mine?" Within this thin volume beats the heart - the hearts - of a master poet. Thank you Betina Kaplan for sharing your friend with me!

[Nolanmarg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetic expressions of the struggles of nearring death and being given another chance at life.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t usually read many works of poetry, but I loved this book. The author is a friend of my professor, so I learned about her work during my freshman year of college, and now I’m writing my final paper on these poems. I find that it’s very easy to understand and very accessible, especially for those who don’t typically read poetry.

[Chio Neyra Roca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conmovedor.