POUNDIAN POETRIES

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Antonio Colinas. From Sepulcro en Tarquinia, 1974

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Meeting with Ezra Pound

Translated by Borja Aguiló Obrador and Ben Clark

Antonio Colinas (1946 La Bañeza, León) is one of Spain’s most outstanding poets. He is also a novelist, essayist, and translator who earned the Spanish National Prize for Literature (1982) and was recently distinguished with the very prestigious Reina Sofía Award for Poetry (2016). His many poetry books include Libro de la mansedumbre (“The Book of Gentleness,” 1997), Sepulcro en Tarquinia ("Sepulchre in Tarquinia," 1974), Noche más allá de la noche (“Night beyond Night,” 2004), El río de sombra (“The River of Shadow,” 2004), Desiertos de la luz (“The Deserts of Light,” 2008), En la luz respirada (“In the Breathed Light,” 2004), Canciones para una música silente (“Songs for a Silent Music,” 2014).

Antonio Colinas belongs to the Novissimo poets, such as Félix de Alzúa, Pere Gimferrer, Vicente Molina Foix, Guillermo Carnero, and Leopoldo María Panero. In May 1971, he visited Pound in Venice. First, he was asked to introduce himself, which he did in a letter he shoved under the door; he was told to come back by 5 pm; when he returned, at first, nobody answered his call, but then he saw Pound and Olga return from their walk and he was invited inside. Pound was mostly silent and Colinas talked to Olga while he stared into Pound's blue eyes. – Viorica Patea.

This translation is published in Make It New for the first time. Grateful acknowledgment to Viorica Patea for submitting the poem and translation to our magazine. (N. Ed.)