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Spanish language poets? | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading |  | |
| 2_Journey Newbie United States Joined 5022 days ago 32 posts - 33 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 1 of 9 05 May 2011 at 3:54pm | IP Logged |
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Hi everyone!
I love reading poetry in English, and am starting to get curious about reading poetry in Spanish as part of my Spanish language study. Are there any can't miss Spanish language poets? Also, are there any poets that might be better for a beginner to start out with? Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Ygangerg Pentaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5316 days ago 100 posts - 140 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Arabic (Written), Mandarin, French Studies: German | Message 3 of 9 01 July 2011 at 9:19pm | IP Logged |
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Jorge Luis Borges is great. He's most famous for his short stories, but his poetry is good. He was from Argentina
and has been one of the most influential Latin American writers. He's really into labyrinths. If you'd like something from European Spanish as well, Federico Garcia Lorca was a very entertaining and deep poet and playwright from Andalucía. He is in good company as one of the most celebrated cultural figures of Spain. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5260 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 4 of 9 02 July 2011 at 1:38am | IP Logged |
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Gabriel García Márquez called Pablo Neruda "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language". His poetry still speaks to today's generation. His poetry varies from love, to odes, to social commentary. I challenge anyone to read "Explico algunas cosas" and not be moved. From the Spanish Civil War to "The Heights of Machu Pichu", his voice resonates. His command of the language is so adroit.
I read his book of memoirs "Confieso que he vivido" in Spanish and have never been so moved whilst reading prose before. His prose reads like poetry. This is my favorite book in Spanish. I couldn't put it down. He led a most extraordinary life. "El cartero de Neruda" by Antonio Skármeta of Chile is a wonderful portrait of the poet. This was the inspiration for the film "Il Postino". Yeah, Don Pablo was more than a little gaga over communism, but what intellectual (besides Borges) in his heyday wasn't? Who could blame him, he saw so much injustice in the world, in his native Chile, in Burma, the Spanish Civil War and ultimately the CIA supported coup d'etat against Salvador Allende that led to over 20 years of the Pinochet dictatorship. Neruda is my favorite Spanish poet and, I agree with Gabo- he is my favorite poet. As Ygangerg concurs, I also am quite fond of Federico García Lorca's poetry. His poetry captures the soul of Spain. If you take the opportunity to read these two great poets you will not regret it. Explico algunas cosas Edited by iguanamon on 02 July 2011 at 1:48am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Iwwersetzerin Bilingual Heptaglot Senior Member Luxembourg Joined 5667 days ago 259 posts - 513 votes Speaks: French*, Luxembourgish*, GermanC2, EnglishC2, SpanishC2, DutchC1, ItalianC1 Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 5 of 9 02 July 2011 at 10:11am | IP Logged |
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Totally agree with the comment about Pablo Neruda above. He's my favorite poet too, in any language.
Others I like a lot are Mario Benedetti and Gabriela Mistral. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mork the Fiddle Senior Member United States Joined 3967 days ago 86 posts - 159 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Norwegian, Latin, Ancient Greek | Message 6 of 9 22 May 2015 at 9:31pm | IP Logged |
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Two other favorites of mine are Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Rubén Darío. Both lived in the 19th century. The best known poetry of Bécquer is called Rimas. Darío is well known in Spanish literature for several works. Gutenberg has some of their work in the Spanish original.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5373 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 7 of 9 22 May 2015 at 10:21pm | IP Logged |
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I agree with what has already been written and must add that the bilingual Borges book of poems is a wonderful language learning tool if you like this sort of stuff.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| obsculta Newbie United States Joined 5818 days ago 36 posts - 83 votes Speaks: English* | Message 8 of 9 22 May 2015 at 11:53pm | IP Logged |
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The great cantautor Joan Manuel Serrat has recorded musical versions of many famous
Spanish poems by Miguel Hernandez, Antonio Machado, Luis Garcia Montero and many others. His songs might not be a bad place for a beginner to start. Here he is singing Hernandez's Hijo de la luz y de la sombra. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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