Böcker av Fernando Valverde

A powerful account of the symbolic murder of the poet's mother. From the first poem in this bilingual edition of The Men Who Killed My Mother, it is evident that the mother in "Our Mother" ("Nuestra Madre") is not only Fernando Valverde's. The soulful refrain of "mother/madre" might be anyone's mother whose suffering is palpable in a world legislated over by men. Issues such as orphanhood, abuse, violence, manipulation, and fear are treated with the rawness of someone who has tasted the venom of betrayal. This is a lyrical dark garden of faith and family, exposing treachery and cruelty, and anger at injustice, from the voice of a son with deep love for his mother-for her honor, dignity, and dreams.  Valverde leads us into a forest full of wolves and serpents under the governance of civil society. He has received many awards for his poetry and is recognized as one of the most highly acclaimed poets of his generation in Spain. This heartfelt English translation by Gordon E. McNeer captures the power of Valverde's poetic cadences and its haunting evocative lyricism.

Bilingual Edition: "Valverde¿s sharp meditation on the state of mind of a nation reeling from its historical contradictions and moral failings is startling...Forché¿s consummate translation and instructive introduction provide amap to help readers navigate this powerful book."¿BooklistIn Fernando Valverde¿s América, ¿sorrow is ancient.¿ Mournfully lyrical, politically sharp, with a sweeping view of American roots, dysfunctions, and ideals¿as if from above, and yet also from within¿this is a book that deconstructs the legacy of empire. From the Mississippi River to Fulton Avenue, from slavery to ¿lone wolf¿ shooters, Valverde grieves but does not wince away from all that is lost to greed and a culture of violence, painting an urgent portrait of ¿the thirst of America / a smile satisfied to death.¿ Valverde is widely regarded as one of the most important younger Spanish-language poets. Here his vibrant voice and convictions are translated and introduced by Carolyn Forché, herself a world-renowned poet of witness. Bilingual, with Spanish originals and English translations.

Born in Granada, Spain, in 1980, Fernando Valverde is widely considered one of the top young poets writing in Spanish today. This bilingual edition of his book The Insistence of Harm introduces English-language readers to some of his latest, most exciting work.