The Black Heralds
By Peruvian poet César VallejoTranslated by Kathleen Ross and Richard Schaaf
ISBN: 0-935480-43-9
Price: $15.00
Pages: 174
With the publication of The Black Heralds in a beautifully inspired rendering by Kathleen Ross and Richard Schaaf, we come to understand the young, bohemian Vallejo who, along with Neruda in Chile, was destined to change forever the voice of Latin American poetry.
"This volume of translation, done with great
care and reflecting admiration for the poet, is a very
important contribution to the field of Latin American
poetry. Los heraldos negros, one of Vallejo's most
important collections of poetry, created a great impression in
the world of Spanish American poetry for its compassionate
as well as religious tone. These translations are both
accurate and lyrical."
--Choice
"Vallejo's poetry
transcends personalism...the poetic 'I' is plural here and
represents the human condition in a general sense. The
language and imagery suggest a desolation expressed in a
mysterious setting of sunrise."
--American Book Review
"Vallejo continues to be one of the most
influential and respected twentieth-century poets. His work is
dark, bitter and difficult, but a new translation of his
first and perhaps most accessible book is now available.
The Black Heralds shows that even at the beginning
Vallejo's work internalized a struggle so deeply that it was
almost inarticulate, yet articulated a dialect so thoroughly
that it became organic."
--Crossroads
"From the
very first line ('There are blows in life, so hard...I just
don't know!), the discerning reader is convinced that what
follows will be a profound literary experience, a life
perceived from a harrowingly surrealistic
perspective."
--Library Journal