The Complete Poems of San Juan de la Cruz

(Paperback)

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Mara Baranda and Paul Hoover present revitalized translations of some of the most beloved poems of the Golden Age of Spanish literature.

In 1578, during months of imprisonment for his reformist beliefs, San Juan de la Cruz composed a series of narrative poems inspired by the Biblical Song of Songsand, the story goes, a popular love song overheard from his cramped cellthat take God as the beloved. Erotically charged, initially scandalous, his mystical poetry engages with the journey of the soul through the darkest trenches of suffering and despair toward an enlightened spiritual connection with God. For hundreds of years, these poems have resonated deeply with those who search for meaning in the dark, and have influenced generations of poets, artists, and philosophers.

This bilingual edition of theComplete Poemsincluding Dark Night and both the Sanlcar and Jan manuscripts of Spiritual Canticlepresents an intimate and exceptionally collaborative new translation from Mara Baranda and Paul Hoover. Baranda, one of the most distinguished Mexican poets of her generation, lends her deft hand with expansive, meditative poetry. Hooverthe accomplished American poet, editor, and translatoroffers his dexterity with form and the possibilities of language. The product is uniquely faithful to image and idea, and loyal to the ecstatic lyricism of this canonical text.

A volume that hums with the souls longing to find solace,The Complete Poems of San Juan de la Cruzis a collection to be treasured.

Reviews

Praise forThe Complete Poems of San Juan de la Cruz

This is a gorgeously presented book with equally stunning verse.The Millions, Must-Read Poetry of April 2021

In poems that remind the reader of John Donnes fierce, unbridled devotion, mingled with John Keatss romanticism, people suffer, grieve, and die at the various altars of love . . . The collection invites the acceptance of mystery ushered by the intoxicating work of devotion. Publishers Weekly

In St. John of the Crosss poetry, the dark night is also a night of profound, even ecstatic beauty . . . This new edition thrills with the adventure of it allthe souls adventure, Juans adventure. You can feel Juans delight in his newfound freedom, even in the midst of tremendous uncertainty.Amy Frykholm, The Christian Century

I was so impressed by [The Complete Poems of San Juan de la Cruz] . . . [A] revelatory new translation.Sharon Mesmer, Commonweal Magazine

These sixteenth-century poems are gathered together and given a new, contemporary voice through poets Mara Baranda and Paul Hoovers co-translation . . . This is the liberatory power of retranslating classic poets: the opportunity to read differently, on top of or alongside other readingsto provide new shades of meaning, and allow other elements of the poems to shine through.Gabriella Martin, Action Books blog

Author Bio

Mara Baranda is a winner of major literary awards in Mexico, the Aguascalientes National Poetry Prize and the Efrain Huerta National Poetry Prize, as well as Spains Francisco de Quevedo Prize for Ibero-American Poetry. Her collections of poems include Narrar, Atlntica y el rstico, Avido mundo, Ficticia and El mar insuficiente: poemas 1989-2009 (translated into English by Joshua Edwards), and Yegua nocturna corriendo en un prado de luz absoluta (translated into English by Paul Hoover). Paul Hoover is the author of collections of poems including The Book of Unnamed Things, Desolation: Souvenir, Sonnet 56, Edge and Fold, and Poems in Spanish, which was nominated for a Bay Area Book Award. He is editor of Postmodern American Poetry: A Norton Anthology and coeditor of the literary magazine New American Writing. He teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University.