Miracle of Mexico

<p>Alfonso Reyes (1889-1959) was the leading Mexican writer of his time. He was revered by his great successor Octavio Paz a writer who like himself was also an Ambassador. Enormously prolific he was a master of the essay that “most Latin-American of art forms” and an outstanding critic. He knew Hispanic and classical literature and translated Homer Sterne Chesterton Stevenson Shaw and Chekhov. In turn Samuel Beckett translated some of his poems into English; some of his essays too can be read in English.<br />      Reyes saw writing as “the richest means of expressing human feeling”. “Double redemption by the word: first through the concord of bloods; second through the shaping of the personality in its relation to others as well as in its inner growth.” His poetry was varied always skilful and urbane and was far outweighed by his huge output of prose. The present selection aims to convey his amazing half-forgotten skill and some of the flavour and astonishing variety of his formal verse.</p><p>“Yes we have some outstanding poets a playwright several critics and three or four prose writers. But above all we have a man for whom literature has been something more than a calling or a destiny: a religion. A man for whom language has been all that language can be: sound and sign inert trace and wizardry a clockwork mechanism and a living thing. In short: Poet critic and translator he is the Writer; miner craftsman peon gardener lover and priest of words. His work various and perfect is history and poetry reflection and creation: it is a Literature... Need I name this writer who while remaining himself is in himself a group of writers? Far from it: everyone knows I refer to Alfonso Reyes.”  —<em>O</em><em>ctavio Paz letter to Guillermo Ibarra 15 August 1949</em></p><p><em>This large selection of poetry by Alfonso Reyes is accompanied by the brilliant English versions of an award-winning rhyming translator-poet Timothy Adès.</em></p>