2023/03
My dear friends, this year I'm planning to read more poetry, and it would be nice if you could share with me some of your all-time favorite poetry books so that I can give them a go in the next months. In the meantime, I'll be reading three ones written originally in Spanish that I believe I might thoroughly enjoy, and Romancero Gitano, that had been on my TBR list for a while, happened to be my first pick.
One of my favorite poems of all time is in this collection—I remember the first time I read it I was in middle school, and after that I just fell head over heels for it. It is called Romance sonámbulo, a poem that makes me feel alive every time I get the chance to read it, with lots of possible interpretations, but where the only one that matter is eventually yours.
The rest of the poems, other 17 gems, are also incredibly captivating and beautifully written; perhaps there were two or three that were not 'gems' after all, but in the end this is what poetry is all about, right? It is so symbolic, so unique, so personal, that your opinion will be based almost only on your feelings, your mood, or heaven knows what else when you are reading it.
All in all, Romancero Gitano as well as other Lorca's works, such as his Rural Trilogy, are totally worth reading— actually, I truly believe this book was the best option to kick off my poetry journey with. I'll be waiting for more to come.
Favorite poems:
- Romance sonámbulo
- La casada infiel
- Romance de la Guardia Civil española
¡Compadre! ¿Dónde está, dime?
¿Dónde está tu niña amarga?
¡Cuántas veces te esperó!
¡Cuántas veces te esperara,
cara fresca, negro pelo,
en esta verde baranda!
(My friend, where is she—tell me—
where is your bitter girl?
How many times she waited for you!
How many times would she wait for you,
cool face, black hair,
on this green balcony!)
My rating on a scale of 1 to 5:
Quality of writing [5/5]
Pace [4/5]
Plot development [N/A]
Characters [N/A]
Enjoyability [4.5/5]
Insightfulness [4.5/5]
Easy of reading [4/5]
Photos/Illustrations [N/A]
Total [22/5] = 4.4