New translations of poems by prominent Peruvian poet Carlos German Belli. This selection of poems by internationally renowned Peruvian poet Carlos German Belli tempers a dark, ironic vision of worldly injustice with the red midnight sun of hope. Belli s contemplative verses express faith in language, in bodily joy, and in artistic form. These thirty-five poems explore public and domestic spaces of confinement and freedom, from paralysis to the ease of a bird in its azure cloister. Translations by Karl Maurer retain Belli s original meter, follow his complex syntax, and meet the challenges of his poetic language, which ranges from colloquial Peruvian slang to the ironic use of seventeenth-century Spanish. This bilingual edition also includes notes and reflections on Belli and on the art of translation. Beyond introducing American readers to a major presence in world poetry, The Azure Cloister offers a fresh approach to the translation of contemporary verse in Spanish.
