Full Description
A definitive, bilingual selection of poetry, essays, and letters by one of Puerto Rico's most beloved poets.
Julia de Burgos (1914-1953) is best known for her poetry, but she is also an important cultural figure famous for her commitment to social justice, feminist ideas, and the independence of Puerto Rico. Admirers cultivated her legacy to bring to light the real Julia de Burgos, the woman behind the public figure, which this remarkable collection further illuminates by supplying a complex portrait using her own powerful and imaginative words.
Beginning with a critical introduction to Burgos's life and work, Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario then presents a selection of poems, essays, and letters, that offer a glimpse into this formidable talent and intellect. Burgos left Puerto Rico, spending the 1940s in both New York City and Havana, where she cultivated a new kind of identity refracted through her pathbreaking work as a poet and journalist. Both poetry and prose are alive with politically charged insights into the struggle of national liberation, literary creation, and being a woman in a patriarchal society. I Am My Own Path is essential reading for anyone interested in Puerto Rican literature and culture as well as a foundational text of Latinx literature and culture in the United States.
Contents
Translating Julia de Burgos by Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario
Part I. Selected Poems
Poema en 20 surcos / Poem in 20 Furrows
A Julia de Burgos
To Julia de Burgos, translated by Grace Schulman
To Julia de Burgos, translated by Roberto MÁrquez
RÍo Grande de LoÍza
Rio Grande de LoÍza, translated by Grace Schulman
Rio Grande de LoÍza, translated by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera
Momentos
Moments, translated by UrayoÁn Noel
PentacromÍa
Pentachromatics, translated by Robin Myers
Nada
Nothingness, translated by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera
Ay Ay Ay de la grifa negra
My, Oh My, Oh My of the Nappy-haired Negress, translated by Roberto MÁrquez
Mi alma
My Soul, translated by Carina del Valle Schorske
Ochenta mil
Eighty Thousand, translated by Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario
Yo misma fui mi ruta
I Am My Own Path, translated by Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario
CanciÓn de la verdad sencilla / Song of the Simple Truth
Poema detenido en un amanecer
Poem Confined in a Dawn, translated by Josefina BÁez
TransmutaciÓn
Transmutation, translated by Jack AgÜeros
ArmonÍa de la palabra y el instinto
Word and Instinct in Harmony, Translated by Josefina BÁez
CanciÓn desnuda
Naked Song, translated by Josefina BÁez
Yo fui la mÁs callada
I Was the Quietest, translated by Carina del Valle Schorske
Te seguirÉ callada
I Will Follow You Hushed, translated by Aurora Levins Morales
CanciÓn de tu presencia
Song of Your Presence, translated by Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario
CanciÓn de la verdad sencilla
Song of the Simple Truth, Translated by Roberto MÁrquez
El mar y tÚ / The Sea and You
El mar y tÚ
The Sea and You, translated by Aurora Levins Morales
Casi alba
Almost Sunrise, translated by Cyrus Cassells
VÍctima de luz
Victim of Light, translated by Aurora Levins Morales
CanciÓn amarga
Bitter Song, translated by Josefina BÁez
Entre mi voz y el tiempo
Between My Voice and Time, translated by Josefina BÁez
Dadme mi nÚmero
Give Me My Number, translated by UrayoÁn Noel
¡Oh lentitud del mar!
Oh Slowness of the Sea!, translated by Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario
¡Oh mar, no esperes mÁs!
Oh Sea, Wait no Longer!, translated by Josefina BÁez
Poema para mi muerte
Poem for My Death, translated by Roberto MÁrquez
Poemas sueltos / Loose Poems
Campo
Country, translated by Roque Raquel Salas Rivera
Countryside, translated by Robin Myers
Una canciÓn a Albizu Campos
A Song for Albizu Campos, translated by Carina del Valle Schorske
Himno de sangre a Trujillo
Bloody Hymn for Trujillo, translated by Aurora Levins Morales
CanciÓn a los pueblos de AmÉrica y del mundo
Song to the Hispanic Peoples of America and the World, translated by Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario
Canto a JosÉ MartÍ
Song for JosÉ MartÍ, translated by Vanessa PÉrez-Rosario
Farewell in Welfare Island
Despedida desde Welfare Island, translated by Mayra Santos-Febres
The Sun in Welfare Island
El sol de Welfare Island, translated by Mayra Santos-Febres
Part II. Essays, Interview Essays, Vignettes, and Sketches
Translated by Robin Myers
Ensayos/Essays
La mujer frente el dolor de la patria
Women and the Pain of the Nation
Ser o no ser es la divisa
To Be or Not to Be Is the Motto
Triunfa Juan Bosch en concurso periodÍstico
Juan Bosch Triumphs in Journalism Contest
Cultura en funciÓn social
The Social Function of Culture
JosÉ de Diego, el hombre transmutado
JosÉ de Diego, the Transmuted Man
Con los hÉroes de la independencia hispanoamericana
With the Heroes of Hispanic American Independence
PresentaciÓn de Marigloria Palma
Introducing Marigloria Palma
Luis LlorÉns Torres enfermo en Nueva York
Luis LlorÉns Torres Ill in New York
Carmen Alicia Cadilla
Carmen Alicia Cadilla
Entrevistas/Interview Essays
PlÁtica con Esteban Soriano
A Conversation with Esteban Soriano
Con Narciso Figueroa, pianista puertorriqueÑo
With Narciso Figueroa, Puerto Rican Pianist
Con Eusebia Cosme, gran recitadora cubana
With Eusebia Cosme, Great Cuban Performer of Poetry
Con Noro Morales, director de orquesta puertorriqueÑo
With Noro Morales, Musical Director of Orquesta PuertoriqueÑo
Con Conrado VÁsquez, pintor revolucionario mexicano
With Conrado VÁsquez, Revolutionary Mexican Painter
Con Josephine Premice y su arte folklÓrico haitiano
With Josephine Premice and Her Haitian Folk Art
Con Carlos Alfonso RÍos, poeta peruano
With Carlos Alfonso RÍos, Peruvian Poet
CrÓnicas/Vignettes and Sketches
Perfiles de mexicanos, voces de MÉxico en Baltimore
Mexican Profiles, Voices of Mexico in Baltimore
Iris y Paloma en el Museo de Arte HispÁnico
Iris and Paloma in the Hispanic Society Museum and Library
En la Cantina de la Juventud
In the Youth Canteen
Iris y Paloma caminan por Harlem
Iris and Paloma Take a Walk through Harlem
Iris y Paloma en el Museo de la ciudad de Nueva York
Iris and Paloma in the Museum of the City of New York
Puerto Rico en el alma de un niÑo
Puerto Rico in the Soul of a Child
Part III. Letters
Translated by Robin Myers
The Burgos GarcÍa Family
Acknowledgments
A Note on Translations and Editions
Notes
Bibliography to the Introduction
Contributors
Index
