The Poetess Counts to 100 and Bows Out: Selected Poems by Ana Enriqueta Teran (Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation) engish-spanish bilingual

143 Pages·2003·0.23 MB·English

by  Ana Enriqueta Teran

T H E
P O E T E S S
C O U N T S
T O 1 0 0
A N D
B O W S
O U T
The Lockert Library of Poetry in Translation
Editorial Advisor: Richard Howard
for other titles in the lockert library see page 121
T H E
P O E T E S S
C O U N T S
T O 1 0 0
A N D
B O W S
O U T
SELECTED POEMS BY
ANA ENRIQUETA TERÁN
A BILINGUAL EDITION
Translated by Marcel Smith
princeton university press princeton and oxford
·
Copyright © 2003 by Ana Enriqueta Terán
Translations ofpoems and preface copyright © 2003 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton,
New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock,
Oxfordshire OX20 1SY
All Rights Reserved
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Terán, Ana Enriqueta.
The poetess counts to 100 and bows out : selected poems : a bilingual edition /
by Ana Enriqueta Terán; English versions by Marcel Smith.
p. cm. — (The Lockert library ofpoetry in translation)
ISBN 0-691-09671-6 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-691-09672-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Terán, Ana Enriqueta—Translations into English. I. Smith, Marcel.
II. Title. III. Series.
PQ8549.T4 A27 2002
861(cid:2).64—dc21 2002016923
Sonnets numbered, 3, 5, 7, 18, 19, 23, 25, 29, 31, 35, 36, and 39 in the section entitled
“Sonetos de todos mis tiempos” and the following poems appeared in Spanish in
Casa de hablas, Monte Ávila Editores Latinoamerica, 1991: “A un caballo blanco”;
“Música con pie de salmo”; “Saludable visión de este lado oscuro”; “Los sueños”;
“Recados al hermano mayor”; “Las águilas”; “Piedra de habla”; “Compromiso con la
alegría”; “Piedrecillas de adivinación; “El nombre”; “La poetisa cuenta hasta cien y se
retira”; “Tercer intento de casa materna.”
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Dante Typeface
Printed on acid-free paper. ∞
www.pupress.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The Lockert Library ofPoetry in Translation is supported by a bequest from
Charles Lacy Lockert (1888–1974)
these translations
are dedicated to my wife
Elizabeth
without whom not
Indice
Translator’s Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
A Note about Sources xviii
DECasa de hablas
A un caballo blanco 2
El nombre 4
Piedra de habla 6
Compromiso con la alegría 8
Las águilas 10
Saludable visión de este lado oscuro 12
Los sueños 14
Tercer intento de casa materna 42
Recados al hermano mayor 44
Música con pie de salmo 52
Piedrecillas de adivinación 56
La poetisa cuenta hasta cien y se retira 58
DESonetos de todos mis tiempos
Tanto de pan, tanto de aceite 62
Los extraños llamaron a la puerta 64
Reconoció la noche en el espejo 66
Hoja única, erguida muy despacio 68
vi
Contents
Translator’s Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
A Note about Sources xviii
FROMHouse Made of Utterance
To a White Horse 3
The Name 5
Wordstone 7
Deal Struck with Happiness 9
The Eagle 11
Fit Vision of This Dark Side 13
Dreams 15
Third Try at the Mother House 43
Messages for the Older Brother 45
Music with Psalm Foot 53
Pebbles for Scrying 57
The Poetess Counts to 100 and Bows Out 59
FROMSonnets out of All My Seasons
So much bread, so much oil 63
The strangers rattled at the door 65
She took in night in the pier glass 67
One only leaf, adagioed up 69
vii
Los moradores lanzan sus escritos 70
En tus catorce versos surgen finas 72
Una chenchena en el Suapure río 74
Es un charco de sombra y en la cara 76
Sabidurías de torzal incierto 78
Música para labios, torbellino 80
Las respuestas oscilan en un vano 82
Negro, amarillo, blanco como fino 84
DEAlbatros
Albatros 88
Oficio áspero 90
Ascensos y aún distancias 92
Aves nunca vistas 94
Todavía no reposo 96
Voluntad de grito rasgado 98
DEAutobiografía en tercetos
Río Momboy 102
El Motatán 106
Otros ríos 110
Invocación a la madre 114
viii Indice
They who live there hurl their writings 71
Subtle in your fourteen lines surge 73
In the Suapure River 75
A puddle of shade, on its face 77
Wisdoms of uncertain silk cords 79
Music for lips, whirlwind the heart 81
The replies waver in a vain 83
Black, yellow, white as a subtle 85
FROMAlbatross
Albatross 89
Splintery Responsibility 91
Ascents and Yet Distances 93
Never Seen Fowl 95
Not Resting Yet 97
Will of the Torn Scream 99
FROMAutobiography in Tercets
Río Momboy 103
The Motatán 107
Other Rivers 111
Invocation to the Mother 115
Contents ix