Trees

Eugenio Montejo was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1938. He is the author of numerous books of poetry: Élegos (1967), Muerte y memoria (1972), Algunas palabras (1976), Terredad (1979), Trópico absoluto (1982), Alfabeto del mundo (1986), Adiós al siglo XX (1992), El azul de la tierra (1997), Partitura de la cigarra (1999) and Tiempo Transfigurado (2001). He has also published two collections of essays: La ventana oblicua and El taller blanco. In 1998 Eugenio Montejo received Venezuela’s National Prize for Literature. He died in 2008.Peter Boyle is an Australian poet. His four collections of poetry are Coming home from the world (1994), The Blue Cloud of Crying (1997), What the painter saw in our faces (2001), and Museum of Space (2004). A selection of his translations of César Vallejo, I am going to speak of hope, was published by the Peruvian Consulate, Sydney in 1999. He lives in Sydney where he works as a teacher.Miguel Gomes is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut-Storrs. He is an essayist and a short-story writer.

• AcknowledgmentsEugenio Montejo’s EarthdomNotesTranslator’s PrefaceThe Trees: Selected Poems (1967-2004)Los ÁrbolesThe TreesIslandiaIcelandGüigüe 1918Güigüe 1918El Canto del GalloThe Rooster’s SongLa Estatua de PessoaThe Statue of PessoaSobremesaTalking Across the TableÍtacaIthacaLa Terredad de un PájaroThe Earthdom of a BirdCaracasCaracasMis MayoresMy AncestorsMi AmorMy LoveOrfeoOrpheusCaballo RealThe King’s HorsePartidaDeparture Álbum de FamiliaFamily AlbumDos RembrandtTwo RembrandtsHotel AntiguoOld HotelSetiembreSeptemberMare NostrumMare NostrumLisboaLisbonEl OtroThe OtherTerredadEarthdomAmantesLoversLa Tierra Giró para AcercarnosThe Earth Turned to Bring Us CloserLa Araña VelozThe Nimble SpiderEn el CaféIn the CaféEl RezagadoLeft BehindLa PoesíaPoetryEl BueyThe OxLa MesaTableMural Escrito por el VientoMural Written by the WindUn Canto para el TordoA Song for the BlackbirdDespertarWaking UpLa CasaThe HouseTiempo TransfiguradoTransfigured TimeManoaManoaCanciónSongLa VidaLifeVecindadClosenessAlgunas PalabrasA Few WordsAdiós al Siglo XXFarewell to the Twentieth CenturyElegía a la Muerte de mi Hermano RicardoElegy for the Death of my Brother RicardoEl InocenteThe Simple Minded OneNana para EmilioLullaby for EmilioAl Fin de TodoAt the End of EverythingNoches de TrasatlánticoNights on the TransatlanticPalabras de BoyeroThe Ox Driver’s WordsLa Hora de HamletHamlet’s HourUn TordoA ThrushAdiós a mi PadreSaying Goodbye to my FatherFinal de LluviaEnd of the RainMedianocheMidnightLos AusentesThe Absent OnesAl RetornoComing BackCanto LacradoHidden SongOpus Número CeroOpus Number ZeroUna Fotografía de 1948A Photograph from 1948Partitura de la CigarraThe Cicada’s ScoreSelected Prose WritingsThe White WorkshopFragmentsNotes to the Poems

The Trees, a selection of Eugenio Montejo’s poetry from the last forty years, shares with Kaplinski a fascination with natural images; like Malarmé, with endings and beginnings. Peter Boyles rhythmic and limpid translations of the Venezuelan writer aim to fill an absence of Montejo’s works available in English.