Loteria
Poems
Published on 30. November 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
82 pages
978-1-68003-322-9 (ISBN)
Description
A traditional game of chance popular in Mexico and in Mexican American culture, LoterIa is poetically rendered in Esteban RodrIguez's eighth collection, with each poem revolving around one of the fifty-four cards. Using the image presented as a catalyst for exploration and self-reflection, RodrIguez unveils the familial journey between two countries and cultures through both a surreal and narrative lens. Here, a mother unearths a severed hand in the desert. A father discovers his heart among a heap of discarded items. And at one point, the speaker-toggling between his role as witness and son-finds himself in a canoe on a river contemplating the meaning behind an authentic experience. Lyrical, insightful, and honestly engaging, LoterIa sheds light on a world that doesn't so easily reveal itself, adding to RodrIguez's prolific and important oeuvre.
Reviews / Votes
In LoterIa-which draws its form from the Mexican game of chance yet manages to convey a sense of inevitability with every line-Esteban RodrIguez presents intimate and compassionate portraits of family members. Among the most vivid are those of his father, whose crossing of the desert is imagined in kaleidoscopic, multivalent sequences both harrowing and hallucinatory, and his mother, whose high spirits and physical sufferings are vividly reconstructed and turned for moving insights. Deeply companionable, offered in a voice that is simultaneously energetic and guided by confident restraint, these poems are full of love and clarity, an uncommon and welcome combination." - John Hennessy, author of Coney Island Pilgrims"Esteban RodrIguez's LoterIa is the story of the crossing. The hunger, violence, struggle, and death experienced by those who take on this dangerous venture is itself one kind of lottery, some make it and some don't. There is fortune and luck being sought and some is imposed, but either way, these poems show us the vulnerability and humility of a family who has crossed the board in search of the loterIa, not the game, but the promise." - Richard Boada, author of We Find Each Other in the Darkness
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Huntsville
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
100 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68003-322-9 (9781680033229)
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
Person
Esteban Rodriguez is the author of five poetry collections, most recently The Valley (Sundress Publications 2021), and the essay collection Before the Earth Devours Us (Split/Lip Press 2021). He is the Interviews Editor for the EcoTheo Review, Senior Book Reviews Editor for Tupelo Quarterly, and Associate Poetry Editor for AGNI. He currently lives in central Texas.
Content
2 El diablito 1
21 La mano 2
9 El barril 3
40 El alacrAn 4
34 El soldado 5
42 La calavera 6
6 La sirena 7
12 El valiente 8
20 El pAjaro 9
43 La campana 10
54 La rana 11
39 El nopal 12
45 El venado 13
52 La maceta 14
4 El cartrIn 15
23 La luna 16
46 El Sol 17
27 El corazOn 18
1 El gallo 23
22 La bota 24
36 El cazo 25
14 La muerte 26
32 El mUsico 27
25 El borracho 28
33 La araNa 29
38 El Apache 30
30 El camarOn 31
28 La sandIa 32
31 Las jaras 33
24 El cotorro 34
18 El violoncello 35
7 La escalera 36
11 El melOn 37
15 La pera 38
8 La botella 39
13 El gorrito 40
10 El Arbol 45
53 El arpa 46
17 El bandolOn 47
44 El cantarito 48
41 La rosa 49
26 El negrito 50
51 La palma 51
49 El pino 52
47 La corona 53
37 El mundo 54
29 El tambor 55
19 La garza 56
50 El pescado 57
5 El paraguas 58
16 La bandera 59
35 La estrella 60
3 La dama 61
48 La chalupa 62
Acknowledgments 65
About the Author 67
21 La mano 2
9 El barril 3
40 El alacrAn 4
34 El soldado 5
42 La calavera 6
6 La sirena 7
12 El valiente 8
20 El pAjaro 9
43 La campana 10
54 La rana 11
39 El nopal 12
45 El venado 13
52 La maceta 14
4 El cartrIn 15
23 La luna 16
46 El Sol 17
27 El corazOn 18
1 El gallo 23
22 La bota 24
36 El cazo 25
14 La muerte 26
32 El mUsico 27
25 El borracho 28
33 La araNa 29
38 El Apache 30
30 El camarOn 31
28 La sandIa 32
31 Las jaras 33
24 El cotorro 34
18 El violoncello 35
7 La escalera 36
11 El melOn 37
15 La pera 38
8 La botella 39
13 El gorrito 40
10 El Arbol 45
53 El arpa 46
17 El bandolOn 47
44 El cantarito 48
41 La rosa 49
26 El negrito 50
51 La palma 51
49 El pino 52
47 La corona 53
37 El mundo 54
29 El tambor 55
19 La garza 56
50 El pescado 57
5 El paraguas 58
16 La bandera 59
35 La estrella 60
3 La dama 61
48 La chalupa 62
Acknowledgments 65
About the Author 67