It Must Be a Misunderstanding
New and Selected Poems
Published on 28. July 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-80017-197-8 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for the Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation 2024.
Shortlisted for the Premio Valle Inclan Prize 2023.
Mexican
poet, teacher and translator Coral Bracho was born in Mexico City in
1951. She has published several books, two in English thanks to the
brilliant poet-translator Forrest Gander, who has put this composite
volume together, the first time Bracho has been extensively published in
the UK.
An extensive selection from Bracho's earlier work, which
'altered the landscape of Mexican poetry' (World Literature Today), is
accompanied by the entirety of her new book, of which Gander writes:
'Although composed of individual poems, It Must Be a Misunderstanding
is really a deeply affecting book-length work whose force builds as the
poems cycle through their sequences. The "plot" follows a general
trajectory-from early to late Alzheimer's-with non-judgmental affection
and compassionate watchfulness. We come to know an opinionated,
demonstrative elderly woman whose resilience, in the face of her
dehiscent memory, becomes most clear in her adaptive strategies. The
poems involve us in the mind's bafflement and wonder, in its creative
quick-change adjustments, and in the emotional drama that draws us
across the widening linguistic gaps that reroute communication.
Bracho's
poems have philosophical and psychological underpinnings even when they
are descriptive. Her work has always managed to mix abstraction and
sensuality, but in this book the two merge into a particularly resonant
combination. 'We are inside a mind, maybe many minds, considering a
mystery with signal attentiveness, openness, and love.'
Shortlisted for the Premio Valle Inclan Prize 2023.
Mexican
poet, teacher and translator Coral Bracho was born in Mexico City in
1951. She has published several books, two in English thanks to the
brilliant poet-translator Forrest Gander, who has put this composite
volume together, the first time Bracho has been extensively published in
the UK.
An extensive selection from Bracho's earlier work, which
'altered the landscape of Mexican poetry' (World Literature Today), is
accompanied by the entirety of her new book, of which Gander writes:
'Although composed of individual poems, It Must Be a Misunderstanding
is really a deeply affecting book-length work whose force builds as the
poems cycle through their sequences. The "plot" follows a general
trajectory-from early to late Alzheimer's-with non-judgmental affection
and compassionate watchfulness. We come to know an opinionated,
demonstrative elderly woman whose resilience, in the face of her
dehiscent memory, becomes most clear in her adaptive strategies. The
poems involve us in the mind's bafflement and wonder, in its creative
quick-change adjustments, and in the emotional drama that draws us
across the widening linguistic gaps that reroute communication.
Bracho's
poems have philosophical and psychological underpinnings even when they
are descriptive. Her work has always managed to mix abstraction and
sensuality, but in this book the two merge into a particularly resonant
combination. 'We are inside a mind, maybe many minds, considering a
mystery with signal attentiveness, openness, and love.'
Reviews / Votes
'Elegantly translated...Bracho never sentimentalises or reverts to memory loss clichss. Instead, she builds on meaning and emotions through an observant use of irony, and psychological and philosophical insight, sometimes even dark humour, in order to excavate family drama with generosity, love, and understanding. This is an essential collection from one of the most insightful poets writing today in Mexico.'Leo Boix, Poetry London 'Beautifully translated by Forrest Gander... Bracho's consistently unusual images are profoundly illuminating, and her especial gift is to bend them to make us think. She can be both metaphysical and full of human emotion - often, the two at once.'
Fiona Sampson, T?he Guardian
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
402 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80017-197-8 (9781800171978)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2022
Carcanet Poetry
€15.35
Available for download
Persons
Mexican poet and translator Coral Bracho was born in Mexico City, where she still lives and teaches. She is the author of several collections of poetry, including Ese espacio, ese jardin (2003) which won the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize. Her poetry was translated for the Poetry Translation Center's 2005 World Poets' Tour by Tom Boll and poet Katherine Pierpoint. Bracho's honors include the Aguacalientes National Poetry Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship.;Forrest Gander, a writer and translator with degrees in geology and literature, was born in the Mojave Desert and lives in California. Gander is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the Best Translated Book Award. His many translations include Then Come Back: the Lost Neruda Poems, Alice, Iris, Red Horse: Selected Poems of Gozo Yoshimasu, and Firefly Under the Tongue: Poems by Coral Bracho.