Colcha

By Aaron Abeyta

Publication Year: 2001

In Colcha, Aaron Abeyta blends the contrasting rhythms of the English and Spanish languages, finding music in a simple yet memorable lyricism without losing the complexity and mystery of personal experience. His forty-two poems take the reader on a journey through a contemplative personal history that explores communal, political and societal issues as well as the individual experiences of family and friends. With his distinctive voice, Abeyta invites people of all cultures to enter his poems by exploring the essence of humanity as expressed by his particular Hispanic culture and heritage. Marked by intimacy and deep sentiment, Colcha not only acquaints us with the land of Abeyta's people, but also reveals the individuals from his life and family history in the most colorful and delicate detail. We meet his abuelitos (grandparents) in poems such as "colcha" and "3515 Wyandot," and hear of their connection to the tierra and its seasons, their labor and its bounty presented both viscerally and lovingly. We also meet the nameless people: the rancheros and the herders and the farmers, the locals in their pick-up trucks, and the women who make the tortillas. Abeyta's reflections on the plight, loves, joys, failures, and exploitation of the common person in such poems as "cuando se secan las acequias," "untitled (verde)," and "cinco de mayo" belong to the literary heritage of such poets as Pablo Neruda, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Walt Whitman. Colcha is not just for those who love poetry, but for all people who wish to be moved by the music of language and, while listening, perhaps to gain some personal insight into their own lives and cultural traditions.

Published by: University Press of Colorado

Contents
Search Inside This Book
Book Details

E-ISBN-13: 9781607320821
E-ISBN-10: 1607320827
Print-ISBN-13: 9780870816154
Print-ISBN-10: 0870816152

Page Count: 108
Publication Year: 2001

Colcha

Cover

TItle Page, Copyright

Contents

Acknowledgments

introduction: tierra

story

antonito

flight for life

a letter to Guillermo concerning why i must write

the ditches of southern colorado

el lugar de mi naciemiento

cuando se secan las acequias

tio Willie

zoot suit jesus

bones of my people

regard for the dead

tan poquito el amor luego perderlo

apishapa my heart shaped sister

johnny redshirt please call your mother

colcha

atlantic

thirteen ways of looking at a tortilla

castigando el santo ramon fernandez

pronoun poem

the title of the poem

untitled (verde)

trail to los cuates

a letter from my journal to juan

the mountains here are named after blood

a letter to an adopted son

santa fe girl

the distance between us

instructions on how to write a pinche suicide note

untitled

discussions with a ghost of his own creation on why he cannot go north

cinco de mayo

coal train

december 20th

i like the way the singer of the song tells jesus

poem in c minor

a river poem for someone i never knew

for the intentions we hold within the silence of our hearts

3515 wyandot

mixed metaphor (inspirational hymn)

salems

winter after itself

the gifts the mountain kept

independence day

Research Areas

Recommend

Subject Headings

Related Content

Welcome to Project MUSE

Connect with Project MUSE

Cover 1

Cover 2

Cover 3