Against Monolingual Torture of Writers (Part One)
Here is a list of books published in the past few years in Mexico that would be worth the attention of anyone interested in writers working or being published in the immediate vicinity of the United States. In addition to these titles, I would also recommend a set of anthologies published by ELB – Cielo Abierto that interweave poets between two cities or countries. These collections include Relampago/Lightning: Contemporary Poetry from Latin America and the U.S.; Enemigos/Enemies: Contemporary Poetry from Mexico City and London; and Centrifuga: Poesia contemporaranea de Guadalajara y Dublin.
In the introduction to Centrifugal, Christodoulous Makris quotes John Holten to the effect that “a good form of torture for any serious writer would be to deny them reading anything other than works produced in their own language or country” (from an interview by Karl Whitney in 3 AM Magazine, October 27, 2011). Several of the writers whose books are listed below are available in translation. Those of us who are serious writers should make room on their desks for at least two or three of these books, and if anyone can’t read Spanish, find a friend who can and work on translating the poems yourselves.
Hugo Lazaro Aguilar — La Casa en Llamas (San Luis Cultura Municipal)
Luis Alberto Arellano – Grandes Atletas Negros. Luzzeta Editores (Guadalajara, 2014).
Rocio Ceron – Imperio / Empire. Translation by Tanya Huntington. Motin Poeta, 2009.
Jorge Humberto Chavez. La ciudad y el viaje interminable. Antología personal, edición en inglés y español, 1980-2000 (The City and the Endless Journey. USA, 2003)
Jorge Humberto Chavez. Te Diria quq Fueramos al Rio Bravo a Llorar Pero Debes Saber Que Ya No Hay Rio Ni Llanto. (Premios Bellas Artes de Poesia Aguascalientes 2013).
Jorge Humberto Chavez. Angel. Mantis Editores. 2009.
Pura Lopez Colome – Lieder. Bonobos Editores.
Alberto Enriquez – Que La Muerte Llegue a Despertarnos. La Casa del Tiempo (2011).
Alberto Enriquez – Poemas para una conejita nocturna sucia. La Casa Del Tiempo. May, 2015.
Ferreira Gullar. Las Cosas de la Tierra: Antologia Poetica. Seleccion, traduccion y prologo: Jose Javier Villarreal. (Bobobos Editores, 2015)
Julian Herbert – Pastilla Camaleon. Bonobos Editores.
Bjorn Kuhligk – La Calma entre el Cero y el Uno. Traduccion de Daneil Bencomo. Bonobos Editores. 2015.
Antonio Malpica – La maquina. Alfaguara, 2013.
Soldados en la Lluvia. Norma, 2013.
No nos extranara el sistema, Editorial SM, 2014.
Luis Armenta Malpica – Voluntad de la luz (Light’s Volition) – translation by Lawrence Schimel. Mantis Editores/BookThug
Angel Ortuno – Perlesia. Bonobos Editores
Luis Paniagua – Maverick71. Premio Literal de Poesia 2013. Literal Publishing.
Jose Luis Rico – Blanco. La Dïéresis, 2012.
Duna. Tierra Adentro, 2013.
Juan Jose Rodinas – 9 Grados de Turbulencia Interior (Mantis Editores)
Leon Plascencia Nol – Revolver Rojo. Bonobos Editores, 2011.
Leon Plascencia Nol – El Lenguaje Privado. filodecaballos. 2014.
Vicente Quirarte – Ciudad de Seda. Bonobos Editores. 2009
Vicente Quirarte – Melville en Mazatlan. Ardiente Paciencia (2015)
Stefano Strazzabosco – TT ZZZZZ: Cantos de Las Hormigas.
Hernan Bravo Varela – Realidad & Deseo Producciones. Bonobos Editores.
Alfonso Reyes. El nino en el voladero. (Illustraciones: Claudia de Teresa.
FICTION (Short Stories) AND PROSE
Rocio Arellano – El ritmo oculto – Ediciones sin nombre (2012)
Criseida Santa Guevara – La Reinita Pop No Ha Muerto (The Little Queen of Pop Is Not Dead). Literal Publishing.. Premio Literal De Novela 2013.
Jazmina Barrera Velazquez – Cuerpo Extrano (Foreign Body). Literal Publishing (Premio Literal de Ensyo, 2013).
Liliana V. Blum – No Me Pases De Largo (Don’t Pass Me By). Literal Publishing. Premio Literal en Cuento 2013.
About Bill Mohr