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    Semantics of the World: Selected Poems
    Semantics of the World: Selected Poems
    Semantics of the World: Selected Poems
    Ebook270 pages1 hour

    Semantics of the World: Selected Poems

    By Rómulo Bustos Aguirre

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    A poet of both the body and spirit, the work of Rómulo Bustos Aguirre often explores the nature of existence at the turn of the twenty-first century—humankind’s relationship to itself and the universe, the meaning or purpose, if any, of human existence, and the daunting task of discerning that meaning. Critics have described his poetry as highly refined lyricism, metaphysical, existential, and at times erotic. Semantics of the World introduces the English-speaking world to the exciting work of Rómulo Bustos Aguirre, one of Colombia’s most celebrated living writers.

    This selection of extraordinary poems, edited and translated by Nohora Arrieta Fernández and Mark A. Sanders, presents Bustos Aguirre’s works in Spanish alongside their English translations and features the critical apparatus necessary for making Bustos Aguirre’s poetry more accessible to students, scholars, and the general reading public. The volume offers the perfect introduction to Rómulo Bustos Aguirre and his poetry for critical and popular audiences throughout the Anglosphere.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of New Mexico Press
    Release dateDec 1, 2022
    ISBN9780826364258
    Semantics of the World: Selected Poems
    Author

    Rómulo Bustos Aguirre

    Rómulo Bustos Aguirre is a professor emeritus of literature at the University of Cartagena. He is the author of ten major collections of poetry and is one of Colombia’s most celebrated writers. He has been awarded numerous awards including, most recently, the National Poetry Prize by the Ministry of Culture.

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      Book preview

      Semantics of the World - Rómulo Bustos Aguirre

      SEMANTICS of the WORLD

      AFRO–LATIN AMERICAN WRITERS IN TRANSLATION

      MARK A. SANDERS, SERIES EDITOR

      Afro–Latin American Writers in Translation is a series of critical editions of celebrated works in translation aimed to advance research and academic reflection on the Black presence in Latin America and its influence across the Americas. By making Afro–Latin American writers more readily available to a North American audience, the works in the series will deepen our understanding of writing and race in New World history. The publications in the series will further provide a complementary critical history of the literary lives and the ever-evolving print cultures found across Afro–Latin American history and culture.

      Semantics of the World

      selected poems

      Rómulo Bustos Aguirre

      Edited and Translated by

      Nohora Arrieta Fernández and Mark A. Sanders

      University of New Mexico PressAlbuquerque

      © 2022 by the University of New Mexico Press

      All rights reserved. Published 2022

      Printed in the United States of America

      ISBN 978-0-8263-6424-1 (paper)

      ISBN 978-0-8263-6425-8 (electronic)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2022949499

      Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New Mexico—Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache—since time immemorial have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We gratefully recognize our history.

      Publication of this book was made possible in part by a generous contribution from the University of Notre Dame

      Cover image: bgwalkert |istockphoto

      Cover designed by Mindy Basinger Hill

      Interior designed by Isaac Morris

      El mundo es siempre sí y no …

      The world is always yes and no …

      CONTENTS

      Note on Translation

      Rómulo Bustos Aguirre Chronology

      Introduction. Semantics of the World

      El oscuro sello de Dios / The Dark Stamp of God

      Ícaro dudoso / Doubting Icarus

      Hay alguien que yo sé morándome / I Know There’s Someone Dwelling within Me

      Cada día volvemos a inventar el paraíso / Every Day We Remake Paradise

      Odiseo / Odysseus

      Ajedrez / Chess Set

      Jungla / Jungle

      Socrática / Socratic

      Palenqueras / Palenqueras

      Monólogo del verdugo / Hangman’s Monologue

      Un hombre de piel negra / A Man with Black Skin

      En el traspatio del cielo / On the Back Porch of Heaven

      Árbol camajorú / Camajorú Tree

      La visita / The Visit

      Al otro lado del mundo / On the Other Side of the World

      Matarratón / Matarratón

      Crónica de la madre / The Mother’s Chronicle

      Crónica del mediodía / Midday Chronicle

      Crónica de la hermana mayor / The Big Sister’s Chronicle

      Crónica de la noche / Night’s Chronicle

      Crónica del patio / Chronicle of the Courtyard

      Vuelo y construcción del caballo de palo / Flight and Construction of the Hobby Horse

      Crónica del árbol de agua / Chronicle of the Tree of Water

      Poema de las pertenencias / Poem of Belongings

      Poema a la hermana menor / Poem for the Little Sister

      Balada de la casa / Ballad of the House

      Palenquera / Palenquera

      La estación de la sed / The Season of Thirst

      Crónica / Chronicle

      Cotidiano / Everyday

      Ciempiés / Centipede

      El pajarero / The Bird Catcher

      Una vez en un sitio / One Time at the Spot

      Botánica / Botánica

      Cuento / Story

      El don / The Gift

      Escena de Marbella / Scene at Marbella

      Destino / Fate

      Epifanía / Epiphany

      De la dificultad para atrapar una mosca / On the Difficulty of Catching a Fly

      Monólogo de Jonás / Jonah’s Monologue

      El ángel / The Angel

      Consejo / Advice

      Orishas / Orishas

      Sacrificiales / Sacrificials

      Lo eterno / The Eternal

      El carroñero / The Scavenger

      Sicología de la madreperla / Psychology of the Mother-of-Pearl

      Para un manual del inquisidor / For the Inquisitor’s Manual

      Mantarraya / Manta Ray

      Poema con pez y garcetas / Poem with Fish and Egrets

      Cotidiana / Everyday

      Dactiloscopia / Dactyloscopy

      De la levedad / Of Levity

      Cinegética / Cynegetics

      De los sólidos platónicos / Of the Platonic Solids

      Contra Parménides o la mariapalito / Against Parmenides or the Little Stick Bug

      El arcángel / The Archangel

      Mirando una estampa de Santa Lucía en un texto hagiográfico / Looking at a Portrait of Saint Lucia in a Hagiographic Text

      En el zoológico / In the Zoo

      Sacrificial / Sacrificial

      Un paco-paco / A Cricket

      Poema probable / Probable Poem

      La capa de juegos / The Magic Cape

      Muerte y levitación de la ballena / Death and Levitation of the Whale

      Cuento / Story

      Observación hecha desde el hemisferio izquierdo del cerebro / Observation Made from the Left Hemisphere of the Brain

      Del cangrejo ermitaño / Of the Hermit Crab

      Euclidiano / Euclidian

      De moscas y de almas / Of Flies and Souls

      Para Wittgenstein / For Wittgenstein

      Poiesis / Poiesis

      Cenzontle / Cenzontle

      Tropismos / Tropisms

      Muerte y levitación de la ballena / Death and Levitation of the Whale

      Evocando a G. Bateson / Evoking G. Bateson

      El fulgor / The Radiance

      Sufí / Sufi

      Escalera / Stairs

      Ilímites / Limitless

      La casa / The House

      La pupila incesante / The Incessant Pupil

      Semántica del mundo / Semantics of the World

      Ser y no ser / To Be and Not to Be

      Jacob y el ángel revisitados / Jacob and the Angel Revisited

      Metafísica / Metaphysics

      Poeta / Poet

      Poema de amor con serpientes, erizos y palomas / Love Poem with Snakes, Porcupines and Doves

      Poema con sombra parlante / Poem with a Talking Shadow

      Cabeza de Medusa con espejo / Medusa’s Head with a Mirror

      La pupila incesante / The Incessant Pupil

      O viceversa / Or Vice Versa

      Bertica / Bertica

      Péndulo / Pendulum

      Ceremonias / Ceremonies

      Notes

      Additional Reading

      Works Cited

      NOTE ON TRANSLATION

      Nohora Arrieta Fernández and Mark A. Sanders

      In the summer of 2016, we approached Rómulo Bustos with an idea for an English-language translation of his poetry. We think his poetry is wonderful, a gift to humankind, and therefore should be known beyond the Spanish-speaking world. He was elated by the idea and in a matter of weeks sent us his selections for the volume. He chose poems that best represent the concept and poetics for each of his major volumes: The Dark Stamp of God, On the Back Porch of Heaven, The Season of Thirst, Sacrificials, Death and Levitation of the Whale, and The Incessant Pupil.

      At the same time, we devised a set of guidelines for translating Bustos’s poetry that would make decisions consistent across the translation. Because Bustos is a poet of concision and understatement, we agreed to affect a comparable vocal style in English. Toward this end, we have employed an economy of words, simple diction, and whenever possible contemporary syntax, contractions, and the apostrophe (as opposed to of) to form the possessive. However, there are exceptions. For example, when the verb to be needs greater emphasis, we have chosen not to use a contraction, or when the line needs to slow down (particularly toward the end of a poem), we use two words instead of the contraction for greater dramatic effect. The most consistent exception to these guidelines occurs in the poems in which Bustos himself is affecting a slightly elevated form of oration.

      We have replicated, as closely as possible, Bustos’s line breaks and spacing, allowing for some variation when the syntax in English requires it. Likewise, we have followed his pattern of capitalization at the beginning of lines, though the capitalized word in English may be different from its equivalent in Spanish, again due to changes in syntax. In terms of punctuation, Bustos’s aesthetic is quite spartan in that he uses very few end stops and so allows lines to flow into one another, sometimes composing entire poems without punctuation. We have followed this approach meticulously.

      Furthermore, we elected to annotate the volume lightly. The annotations explain references to Greek and Judeo-Christian mythology, flora and fauna specific to South America, and the few untranslated phrases. These annotations are by no means exhaustive; rather, we selected references that are most likely to be unfamiliar to North American readers, yet are essential to the understanding of the poem. Also, we have annotated words and phrases that remain in the original language (Aztec, French, or Latin) in the body of the original poem. Finally, we have left a few words and phrases in Spanish untranslated because they are the noun or title in reference to a thing that does not exist in the English-speaking world, or the word is a neologism and thus has no translation.

      All translations are forms of interpretation; therefore, the translations that follow reflect our understanding of the original poems, hopefully interpretations that will encourage others. Toward this end, this volume is bilingual, offering the original followed by the translation so that readers may read the original Spanish, if possible, and English in conversation with one another, and offer their own translations and interpretations. In other words, we do not offer here a definitive translation, if such a thing exists, but the beginning of a conversation inspired and propelled by Bustos’s artistry.

      RÓMULO BUSTOS AGUIRRE CHRONOLOGY

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