Stories and Poems/Cuentos y Poesias

One of the most important Latin-American writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Nicaraguan poet and essayist Rubén Darío (the pen name of Félix Rubén García Sarmiento) is considered the high priest of the modernismo school of literature, known for its dazzling verbal virtuosity and technical perfection. 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.

Stanley Appelbaum served for decades as Dover's Editor in Chief until his retirement in 1996. He continues to work as a selector, compiler, editor, and translator of literature in a remarkable range of languages that includes Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Russian.

Introduction and Annotations Cuentos / Stories (All the stories except the last one are from the collection Azul . . .) El Rey Burgués / The Bourgeois King El sátiro sordo / The Deaf Satyr La ninfa / The Nymph El fardo / The Bale El velo de la reina Mab / The Veil of Queen Mab La canción del oro / The Hymn to Gold El pájaro azul / The Blue Bird Palomas blancas y garzas morenas / White Doves and Brown Herons La muerte de la emperatriz de la China / The Death of the Empress of China El caso de la señorita Amelia / The Case of Miss Amelia Poesís / Poems From Azul . . . (Blue . . .) Caupolicán Venus / Venus Walt Whitman / Walt Whitman From Prosas profanas (Worldly Hymns) "Era un aire suave . . ." / "The Air Was Gentle . . ." Divagación / Digression Sonatina / Sonatina Blasón / Coat-of-Arms "Ite, missa est / Ite, Missa Est" Coloquio de los centauros / Dialogue of the Centaurs El poeta pregunta por Stella / The Poet Asks About Stella Sinfonía en gris mayor / Symphony in Gray Major Verlaine: Responso / Verlaine: Response El reino interior / The Inner Kingdom "Ama tu ritmo . . ." / "Love Your Rhythm . . ." Alma mía / My Soul "Yo persigo una forma . . ." / "I Pursue a Form . . ." From Cantos de vida y esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope) "Yo goy aquel . . ." / "I Am That Man . . ." Salutación del optimista / Greetings from an Optimist Al rey Óscar / To King Oscar Cyrano en España / Cyrano in Spain A Roosevelt / To Roosevelt "¡Torres de Dios! . . ." / "Towers of God! . . ." Canto de esperanza / Song of Hope Marcha triunfal / Triumphal March Cisnes I / Swans I Cisnes II: En la muerte de Rafel Núñez / Swans II: On the Death of Rafael Núñez Cisnes III / Swans III Cisnes IV / Swans IV "La dulzura del ángelus . . ." / "The Sweetness of the Angelus . . ." Tarde del trópico / Evening in the Tropics "Nocturno ("Quiero expresar . . .") / Nocturne ("I wish to express . . .")" Canción de otoño en primavera / Autumnal Song in Springtime Trébol / Cloverleaf Leda / Leda "Divina Psiquis . . ." / "Divine Psyche . . ." A Phocás el campesino / To Phocas the Peasant "¡Carne, celeste carne . . .!" / "Flesh, Heavenly Flesh . . .!" "En el país de las Alegorías . . ." / "In the Land of Allegories . . ." Augurios / Omens Melancolía / Melancholy "Nocturno ("Los que auscultasteis . . .") / Nocturne ("You who have ausculated . . .")" Letanía de nuestro señor don Quijote / Litany of Our Lord Don Quixote Lo fatal / Fatality From El canto errante (The Wandering Song) Momotombo / Momotombo Salutación al águila / Greetings to the Eagle ¡Eheu! / Eheu! "Nocturno ("Silencio de la noche . . .") / Nocturne ("Silence of the night . . .")" Epístola / Epistle Balada en honor de las musas de carne y hueso / Ballade in Honor of the Flesh-and-Blood Muses From Poema del otoño (Poem of Autumn) Poema del otoña / Poem of Autumn Alphabetical List of Spanish Titles of Poems Alphabetical List of Spanish First Lines of Poems