El acantilado y otros poemas
Portrait of Dylan Thomas
By a Kindred Spirit Tied to the Land of Poets
New York, New York: Along with Robert Burns, Christopher Marlowe, Arthur Rimbaud, Edgar Allan Poe, Sergei Esenin and César Vallejo, Dylan Thomas led a life of nonchalance and poetic disdain for fame and glory. Like them, he died relatively young. And indeed like them, he wrote poetry that will outlive every single one of his detractors. As a literary titan, his works are bound to survive the test of time.
Dylan Thomas' mastery of his craft is in full display in his use of sprung rhythm and unusual syntaxis that are distinctly his. Who can forget his exhortation to his blind father who was on the verge of dying? 'Do not go gentle into that good night' is surely worth remembering even by a non-lover of poetry in a period of storm and stress. His poem 'Fern Hill' abounds with earthy images and is guaranteed to sweep one off one's feet. It is difficult to find inspiration in the artistic perfection of Dylan Thomas without being exposed as a fraud or a hacker with the rare exception of Robert Edward Gurney who succeeds in weaving magic with words in his own inimitable voice.
Dylan Thomas' mastery of his craft is in full display in his use of sprung rhythm and unusual syntaxis that are distinctly his. Who can forget his exhortation to his blind father who was on the verge of dying? 'Do not go gentle into that good night' is surely worth remembering even by a non-lover of poetry in a period of storm and stress. His poem 'Fern Hill' abounds with earthy images and is guaranteed to sweep one off one's feet. It is difficult to find inspiration in the artistic perfection of Dylan Thomas without being exposed as a fraud or a hacker with the rare exception of Robert Edward Gurney who succeeds in weaving magic with words in his own inimitable voice.
"Robert Edward Gurney´s passion for poetry animates his soul and is deeply embedded in the sanctuary of his heart. He is a kindred spirit who has strong family ties in the land of poets." |
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Robert Edward Gurney, a poet deeply influenced by Wales, has recently published El acantilado y otros poemas (Cambria Books: 2016), a collection of twelve Spanish poems celebrating Dylan Thomas and according the literary icon the proper respect he deserves.
Award-winning poet, fiction writer and lecturer in both Spanish and French, Robert Edward Gurney has studied in the Basque country, Salamanca, Uganda as well as the National University, Córdoba, Argentina. He is a bilingual poet, writing with equal proficiency in both Spanish and English.
In his latest book, the attitude of Robert Edward Gurney toward his fellow poet Dylan Thomas is not only reverential but also down-to- earth as evidenced by the title poem, 'El acantilado', which he also translated into English:
Award-winning poet, fiction writer and lecturer in both Spanish and French, Robert Edward Gurney has studied in the Basque country, Salamanca, Uganda as well as the National University, Córdoba, Argentina. He is a bilingual poet, writing with equal proficiency in both Spanish and English.
In his latest book, the attitude of Robert Edward Gurney toward his fellow poet Dylan Thomas is not only reverential but also down-to- earth as evidenced by the title poem, 'El acantilado', which he also translated into English:
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Me tentaba dedicar el poema
‘Port Eynon desde el espacio’ a Dylan Thomas pero pienso que no sería del todo correcto. Quisiera preguntarle si vio lo hermoso que es Gower desde el cielo. Luego recordé que a Dylan le gustaba revolcarse en el presente, en el pasto bajo el acantilado con Polly Garter. No creo que esté allí, el allí de los que creen en el cielo religioso, con Vicente Huidobro. Pasaba más tiempo aquí abajo, caminando a orillas del río que movía el molino de su tío en Kingsbridge-Pontybrennin. |
The Cliff
I was tempted to dedicate the poem 'Port Eynon from Space' to Dylan Thomas but I think it wouldn’t be quite right. I would like to ask him if he saw how beautiful Gower is from the sky. Then I remembered that Dylan liked to tumble about in the present, on the grass under the cliff with Polly Garter. I don’t think he is up there, in the place of those who believe in the religious heaven, with Vicente Huidobro. He spent more time down here, walking by the stream that fed his uncle’s mill in Kingsbridge-Pontybrennin. |
Praise for El acantilado
y otros poemas Andrés Bohoslavsky, the Argentine poet who made the selection of poems to be included in the collection, rightfully points out in the prologue: "El valor de estos poemas de Gurney consiste en eso: encontrar aquello que nadie había visto pese a tenerlo delante de sus ojos todo el tiempo. La palabra poética, eterna e infinita, vuelve a la playa en la que Dylan bañaba sus pies y donde hoy seguramente mojarás tu corazón." _______________________ ("The value of Gurney’s poems published here lies in that: to find that which no one had seen, despite having had it in front of his or her eyes all the time. The poetic, eternal and infinite word returns to the beach where Dylan dipped his feet and where today your spirit will, without doubt, come away refreshed.")
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