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Extracting The Stone Of Madness: Poems 1962 - 1972

The first full-length collection in English by one of Latin America’s most significant twentieth-century poets.  Revered by the likes of Octavio Paz and Roberto Bolano, Alejandra Pizarnik is still a hidden treasure in the U.S. Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962–1972 comprises all of her middle to late work, as well as a selection of posthumously published verse. Obsessed with themes of solitude, childhood, madness and death, Pizarnik explored the shifting valences of the self and the border between speech and silence. In her own words, she was drawn to "the suffering of Baudelaire, the suicide of Nerval, the premature silence of Rimbaud, the mysterious and fleeting presence of Lautréamont,” as well as to the “unparalleled intensity” of Artaud’s “physical and moral suffering.”

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: New Directions; 1 edition (May 17, 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0811223965

ISBN-13: 978-0811223966

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #226,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #17 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Literature > World Literature > Latin American #37 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Themes & Styles > Death, Grief & Loss #41 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > Spanish

I just received this book a few days ago. In translation, the verse poems and prose poems are very evocative; but sometimes it is hard to tell where they are coming from or where they are going. Pizarnik's poems require careful musing. I obviously need to spend more time with this book.The Spanish originals are included, and the translations follow the Spanish closely. Of course, the usual untranslatable heart of poetry is a problem; but, as far as I can tell, that the translations seem faithful emotionally and aesthetically to the very elusive originals. The book is nicely designed and produced.The reason that I am giving this book four stars instead of five is that there is no introduction and only four pages of notes at the end. Pizarnik is little-known in the English-speaking world, so an introduction that would place her within her own context seems necessary. There might be a good reason for this absence (there is information about Alejandra Pizarnik available on-line); but, from my point of view, the lack of any substantial supportive text is a missed opportunity.

The LOVE is HUGE! Alejandra Pizarnik will always be close at hand. Some quotes:"If only I could live in a continual state of ecstasy, shaping the body of the poem with my own, rescuing every phrase with my days and weeks, imbuing the poem with my breath while feeding the letters of its every word into the offering in this ceremony of living.""The light of language covers me like music, like a picture ripped to shreds by the dogs of grief. And winter reaches for me like a woman who has fallen in love with a wall.""The night is the color of the eyelids of the dead.""space of disaffectation where you don't know what to do with so much lack of want.""And nothing will be yours except a movement toward a where that is whereless.""Behold space trembling like a great madman."

Extracting the Stone of Madness: Poems 1962 - 1972 Collected Poems, 1909-1962 Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991 Designing From The Stone: Design Techniques for Bezel Setting in Metal Clay Using the Stone as Inspiration Building Fences of Wood, Stone, Metal, & Plants: Making Fence with Wood, Metal, Stone and Living Plants Stone Cold (The Alex Stone Thriller Series Book 2) Blood and Stone (The Alastair Stone Chronicles Book 6) F. G. A. Stone: Leaving No Stone Unturned: Pathways in Organometallic Chemistry (Profiles, Pathways, and Dreams) It Began with a Stone: A History of Geology from the Stone Age to the Age of Plate Tectonics Poems of Love and Madness / Poemas de Amor y Locura: Translations from the Spanish National Geographic June, 1972, Vol. 141, No. 6 Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Doll Exclusives 1972-2004: Identification & Values, 3rd Edition It's All About the Accessories for the World's Most Fashionable Dolls, 1959-1972 US Army, Special Forces, Technical Manual, TM 9-1010-205-24, 40-MM GRENADE LAUNCHER M79, 1972 U.S. Army Technical Manual, TM 3-1330-203-10, LAUNCHER AND GRENADES, SMOKE: HC AND WP, M176, FSN 1330-930-8945, 1972 VINTAGE AUTOMOBILE ADVERTISING 7: 1970-1972: OVER 420 FULL SIZE VINTAGE AUTOMOBILE ADS FROM MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS - LARGE ONE-AD-PER-PAGE FORMAT Political Buttons, Book II 1920-1976 (Including Revised Prices for Book I: 1896-1972) Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution: The High Calorie Way to Stay Thin Forever (1972 Edition) McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15 Eagle Manual: 1972 onwards (all marks) (Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual) Volkswagen Official Service Manual Super Beetle, Beetle and Karmann Ghia 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979