In this Book
- The Counterpunch (and Other Horizontal Poems)/El contragolpe (y otros poemas horizontales)
- Book
- 2016
- Published by: The University of Alabama Press
summary
Alamar, the home of award-winning Cuban poet Juan Carlos Flores, is the setting for his collection, The Counterpunch and Other Horizontal Poems) / El contragolpe (y otros poemas horizontales). Constructed as a self-help community in eastern Havana, Alamar is the largest housing complex in the world. Flores’s highly structured texts, organized into “art galleries,” present prose paintings of a big place in very small form.
Flores builds a poetic landscape with repeating structures that mirror Alamar’s five-floor walkups. Exploring life and dream on the flat surfaces of the poems, he gives fleeting glimpses of perception and survival at the urban margins. As the poet ages, so ages Alamar itself. Yet both find renewal through poetry.
The eighty poems in this bilingual edition offer the first English translation of a complete Flores collection. It will also be of interest to Spanish-language readers seeking access to Cuban literature abroad. Award-winning scholar and translator Kristin Dykstra has compiled an introduction in which she presents Flores, his literary contexts, and references in his poems. Because Flores made specific requests regarding translation, fascinating notes also clarify and expound on choices Dykstra makes in the English version.
A deluxe edition with a handmade, limited-edition color linocut print, including a letterpress-printed poem signed by the author, is available directly from the University of Alabama Press.
Flores builds a poetic landscape with repeating structures that mirror Alamar’s five-floor walkups. Exploring life and dream on the flat surfaces of the poems, he gives fleeting glimpses of perception and survival at the urban margins. As the poet ages, so ages Alamar itself. Yet both find renewal through poetry.
The eighty poems in this bilingual edition offer the first English translation of a complete Flores collection. It will also be of interest to Spanish-language readers seeking access to Cuban literature abroad. Award-winning scholar and translator Kristin Dykstra has compiled an introduction in which she presents Flores, his literary contexts, and references in his poems. Because Flores made specific requests regarding translation, fascinating notes also clarify and expound on choices Dykstra makes in the English version.
A deluxe edition with a handmade, limited-edition color linocut print, including a letterpress-printed poem signed by the author, is available directly from the University of Alabama Press.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- Raising Alamar
- pp. xi-xxx
- OPENING
- Manuscritos / Manuscripts
- pp. 2-4
- PeaNut Gallery I
- El buzo / The diver
- pp. 6-7
- Meta volante / Bonus sprint
- pp. 10-11
- Fuchi / Hacky sack
- pp. 14-15
- Hay que ver / You have to see
- pp. 18-19
- The band / The band
- pp. 20-21
- Carreras de maratón / Marathons
- pp. 24-25
- Zigzag / Zigzag
- pp. 28-29
- El número 10 / Number 10
- pp. 30-31
- PeaNut Gallery II
- El beso / The kiss
- pp. 36-37
- La sibila / The sibyl
- pp. 38-39
- Miss Boyero / Miss Boyero
- pp. 42-43
- El dinosaurio / The dinosaur
- pp. 46-47
- La confederación / The confederation
- pp. 48-49
- La máquina licuadora / The blender
- pp. 52-53
- La palangana / The washbasin
- pp. 54-55
- D-32 / D-32
- pp. 58-59
- R.M.R / R.M.R
- pp. 60-61
- Novia mía / My girl
- pp. 62-63
- La columbina / The columbine
- pp. 64-65
- Los olvidados / The forgotten ones
- pp. 66-68
- PeaNut Gallery III
- La aplanadora / The steamroller
- pp. 70-71
- Factorías / Foundries
- pp. 72-73
- Blanco móvil / Moving target
- pp. 76-77
- El selenita / The Selenaist
- pp. 80-81
- ¡Bingo! / Bingo!
- pp. 86-87
- La grulla / The crane
- pp. 88-89
- El salvoconducto / The safe-conduct
- pp. 90-91
- El enrejador / The smith
- pp. 92-93
- El mensajero / The messenger
- pp. 94-95
- El gigante / The giant
- pp. 96-97
- Zapateo / Tapdance
- pp. 98-99
- Maqui-nación / Machi-nation
- pp. 100-101
- Local news / Local news
- pp. 102-104
- PeaNut Gallery IV
- Entre autistas / Among autistics
- pp. 106-107
- Hombre-leopardo / Man-leopard
- pp. 108-109
- Souvenir / Souvenir
- pp. 110-111
- Griot / Griot
- pp. 112-113
- Phoenix / Phoenix
- pp. 114-115
- Milord / Milord
- pp. 116-117
- El bobo / The fool
- pp. 118-119
- El extintor / The fire extinguisher
- pp. 122-123
- En el dojo / In the dojo
- pp. 124-125
- El leproso / The leper
- pp. 126-127
- Los intocables / The untouchables
- pp. 128-129
- Sifa / Wastepipe
- pp. 134-135
- Tren a Vegas / Train to Vegas
- pp. 136-138
- PeaNut Gallery V
- El lagarto / The chameleon
- pp. 140-141
- El estertor / The death rattle
- pp. 142-143
- El tibor de hojalata / The tinplate urinal
- pp. 144-145
- Días de 1834 / Days of 1834
- pp. 146-147
- Alemania, 1843 / Germany, 1843
- pp. 148-149
- Dólares canadienses / Canadian dollars
- pp. 150-151
- El castero / A very fine fish
- pp. 154-155
- Terapia floral / Floral therapy
- pp. 158-159
- Borges paupau / Borges spankspank
- pp. 160-161
- La tempestad / The tempest
- pp. 162-163
- El pensionado / The pensioner
- pp. 166-167
- El hombre sobre el sofá / Man on sofa
- pp. 168-170
- EN LA FRONTERA / ON THE BORDERLINE
- El contragolpe / The counterpunch
- pp. 172-174
Additional Information
ISBN
9780817388379
Related ISBN(s)
9780817358136
MARC Record
OCLC
935989748
Pages
208
Launched on MUSE
2016-01-27
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2016