The first volume in the new The Americas Poetry Series from Vagabond Press introduces substantial selections of work from three major modern Spanish-language poets, cutting across three important lineages in Latin American literature. First, the surrealism and Romanticism found in Argentine poet Olga Orozco, delving in "dreams, prophecy, magic, the poem as inward quest"; then, the experimental, neo-baroque of the idiosyncratic poetry of Uruguayan poet Marosa di Giorgio that tests and renegotiates the boundaries of prose and lyric poetry; finally, the political, socially-engaged lyricism that "sidesteps traditional rhetoric, whether of left or right, to offer a nuanced, and far bleaker, view of our world" of Jorge Palma's work with its clarity and final optimism. This volume is a powerful and expansive introduction to the work of three greats of modern Latin American literature translated by one of Australia's foremost contemporary poets.
Olga Orozco (1920-1999) was born in Toay, La Pampa, Argentina, spent her childhood in Bahía Blanca and at sixteen moved with her family to Buenos Aires. Her first collection of poems Desde lejosappeared in 1946 and was followed over the next five decades by nine further collections, as well as selected anthologies, two collections of short stories, essays and plays. She travelled extensively and gave readings of her poetry in Europe, the United States and throughout Latin America. Among other honours Olga Orozco was awarded the Juan Rulfo Prize for Latin American and Caribbean Literature in 1998.
Marosa di Giorgio (1932-2004) was born in Salto, Uruguay. The child of first and second generation Italian immigrants, di Giorgio grew up on a small farm on the city's outskirts. As a child she developed a passion for theatre and poetry. She was an actress with a professional theatre company during the 1950's and 60's as well as briefly a journalist, but later worked in the Civil Registry Office in Salto. In 1978 she moved to Montevideo. In 1953 her first book of poems appeared followed regularly by many others. From 1971 onwards her poetic work has been gathered into one continuously-expanding, thematically-interrelated book Los papeles salvajes.- some 650 pages in its 2008 edition. She is also the author of five volumes of short stories. Through the 1980's and 90's she received a range of major awards and presented her poetry at Festivals and Universities in Latin America, Spain and the United States.
Jorge Palma (1961- ) was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He has worked in journalism and radio in the field of literary and cultural criticism. His first collection of poems Entre el viento y la sombrawas published in 1989 and has been followed by four later collections. His poetry has been included in several anthologies and presented at numerous poetry festivals in Europe and Latin America. A collection of his short stories, Paraísos artificiales, was published in 1990.
Peter Boyle is an Australian poet and translator of poetry from Spanish and French. In 2013 he was awarded the New South Wales Premier's Prize for Literary Translation. He is particularly noted for his translations of Cuban poet José Kozer and Venezuelan poet Eugenio Montejo.
