Stories and Poems
SynopsisPlot
The present volume contains a rich selection of Darío's best poems and stories, carefully chosen from Azul (Blue), Prosas profanas (Worldly Hymns), Cantos de vida y esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope), El canto errante (The Wandering Song), and Poema del otoño (Poem of autumn). Stanley Appelbaum has provided accurate English translations (line for line in the poetry section) on the pages facing the original Spanish, as well as an informative introduction to Darío's life and work, and annotations to the individual stories and poems. The result is a superb resource for any student of Spanish language and literature or anyone interested in one of the earliest and most influential literary movements of the twentieth century.
Story
About this book
Rubén Darío, born in Nicaragua in 1867, became one of the most influential Spanish-language writers of his era. He is widely regarded as a central figure in the Modernismo movement, which reshaped poetry and prose across Latin America and Spain in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His writing drew on French Symbolism and Parnassianism while remaining rooted in the rhythms and possibilities of Spanish. This bilingual edition, edited and translated by Stanley Appelbaum, brings together a selection of his poems and stories drawn from several of his major works.
The source collections include Azul, Prosas profanas, Cantos de vida y esperanza, El canto errante, and Poema del otoño. Each piece appears in its original Spanish alongside an English translation. The poetry translations follow the original line by line, making the book useful for readers studying Spanish or comparing the two languages side by side. Appelbaum also provides an introduction covering Darío's life and work, along with annotations for individual selections.
Darío spent much of his adult life outside Nicaragua, living and working in Chile, Argentina, Spain, and France. His writing often moves between local Latin American subjects and wider European literary traditions, reflecting the international scope of his career and the Modernismo movement itself.
