Madwomen: The Locas mujeres Poems of Gabriela Mistral, a Bilingual Edition

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Mistral's poems are a bit overly flowery for my taste, but the title of "Madwomen" seems completely correct in the best possible way. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a poetry volume that has been translated to English. I'm not sure I have much interest in reading anything else from Mistral. Feb 01, Heather rated it really liked it Shelves: Madwomen Between the concept of the collection, that this is the bilingual edition, and that it has a short biography of the author, it's kind of a one stop shop for this great poet. Showcasing women who are at the edges of their ability to cope and in a variety of situations, this collection is also surprisingly relatable.

Gabriela Mistral is one of the Nobel Laureates for Literature and given the premise of challenging myself to Read Nobel Women, how can I not choose this one for her? It also h Madwomen Between the concept of the collection, that this is the bilingual edition, and that it has a short biography of the author, it's kind of a one stop shop for this great poet. It also helps that this totally counted as "a collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love" for Read Harder I am working on improving the amount of poetry I read, especially by women, and this is definitely my kind of poetry.

Some of these women are mad, but that doesn't mean insane. They have been thwarted by life in a variety of situations and they aren't all hanging around in a lovesick stupor either, though some were in love. Even for those madwomen who were in love, that's not what the poem is about. I could pick out some words I had forgotten, and would read aloud sometimes so I can remember the cadence of some words, but it wasn't helpful for enjoying the book. But it was nice to get the bit of refresh for me.

As mentioned above, the beginning of this particular volume also includes a short herstory of the life of Mistral. It was interesting to read about how she grew up and the progress of her career, both in poetry and education. My favorite poem was Clytemnestra, who is a character from Greek mythology that I had never heard of.

Altogether, the book has me convinced that I have been a madwoman and that it's okay and I'm not alone and every madwoman has a different story. If that's not a reason to check out this collection of poems, than I don't know what is. Okay, okay, Read Harder and Nobel Women are good reasons too, but that's not the point.

This is a great collection that any woman could relate to.

Madwomen: The "Locas mujeres" Poems of Gabriela Mistral, a Bilingual Edition

Sep 16, Dusty rated it liked it Shelves: I read a fair amount of poetry but don't know how to read Gabriela Mistral. She's called a feminist poet but acclaimed for her ability to write "like a man". She's the first Latin American winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature but she wrote much of her poetry while self-exiled in the United States and Europe.

I understand the inclination to expose in her poetry biographical parallels. Like Cassandra subject of one of the poems included here she decried European fascism before the extent of I read a fair amount of poetry but don't know how to read Gabriela Mistral. Like Cassandra subject of one of the poems included here she decried European fascism before the extent of the genocide became common knowledge, when many of her contemporaries sympathized with Italy and Germany.

Like many of the other women to whom she lends voice in the Locas Mujeres series, she struggles to fit into the larger patriarchal scheme. She struggles to be herself under a pen-name and in a culture that isn't sure it likes its women to be diplomats and poets. My three-star review here seems harsh, perhaps; I'll freely admit that I didn't "get" much of the poetry included here, though overall I respected what seem to be her broader intentions.

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So, three stars for my reading of Mistral, not necessarily Mistral herself Nov 01, Sean Curley rated it really liked it. The "locas mujeres" poems, the final notable works by the first Latin American winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature as well as the fourth woman, and second non-white person , all deal with women in varying states of psychological distress, as might be discerned from the title.

I came to this book as part of my long-term reading project to cover works by every Nobel Laureate. In the course of that, I've typically found that foreign poets are the most challenging writers, on average, since poe The "locas mujeres" poems, the final notable works by the first Latin American winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature as well as the fourth woman, and second non-white person , all deal with women in varying states of psychological distress, as might be discerned from the title.

In the course of that, I've typically found that foreign poets are the most challenging writers, on average, since poetry is particularly vulnerable to loss of power in the course of translation.

Madwomen: The "Locas mujeres" Poems of Gabriela Mistral, a Bilingual Edition, Mistral, Couch

While, as a unilingual individual, I cannot speak to the accuracy or suitability of Randall Couch's translations, I will say that the results read very well in English. The poems here primarily deal with creations of the author, though in a number of instances she dips into the well of Greek mythology and, in one instance, the Bible for inspiration, resulting in interesting takes on figures like Clytemnestra and Electra. Oct 03, Sherry Chandler rated it liked it Shelves: All women are mad in extreme circumstances and this collection shows us women at extremes.

Because I am ignorant of both South American culture and the Spanish language, I feel I was not able to read these poems well.

The "Locas mujeres" Poems of Gabriela Mistral, a Bilingual Edition

Where I could connect best was with poems where I was familiar with the back story: Where I did get it, I was moved by the depth of the insight, the power of the language, even in translation. Oct 02, Stephanie added it. Gabriela Mistral was discovered when I was traveling in Chile. The first Latin American Nobel Prize winner. This edition is bilingual with the original Spanish side by side with the translation in English. Dec 28, Ruth rated it it was amazing. Oct 09, metaphor rated it it was amazing Shelves: Before the threshold and before the path, I wait and wait for one who walks straight and advances truer than water or fire.

Jan 15, Laura rated it really liked it. I really enjoy this poet. Here words are so powerful. I am not sure that I enjoyed the forward and commentary as much as the edition by Ursla Le Guin. I finished Madwomen last night and still have this lump in my throat I am in owe. This book is perfect. The brief biography in the beginning gave me better sense of the poet and that helped me understand and appreciate her interpretation a lot more.

Her poems are mainly portrayed womanhood, children, education, religion, life, love and betrayal as it was the reflection from her own life. Gabriel I finished Madwomen last night and still have this lump in my throat Gabriela Mistral is one of the most remarkable writer and poet I've known. Born in the middle of the mountains in Chile, the father abandoned the family before she's three, raised by three women, her mother, sister and grandmother.

She was dismissed from schools from stealing school supply. Homeschooled by her sister. Started to write and supported her family. Left her home country. Being a diplomat and activist, traveled and lived in many countries around. Worked for the UN for the Woman's Rights. Locas mujerres peoms Madwomen is a self-portraits and reflection of Mistral's life, the catastrophe, the wound, perseverance and determination. It is deeply emotional, devastated yet beautifully and powerfully composed. Those sweet burn-scars that paint us like zebras. The fever of summer, the gilding of our eyes or the red of our tongue.

Gabriela Mistral, Nobel Prize in Literature Oct 14, Bria rated it liked it Shelves: I was really looking forward to reading this one off my Book Riot Read Harder Challenge list to check-off "collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love. So what I did was read it once in English, read it out loud to get the flow in the Spanish and then compared the English and Spanish to expand my own Spanish vocabulary. Which I was really looking forward to reading this one off my Book Riot Read Harder Challenge list to check-off "collection of poetry in translation on a theme other than love.

Which I think is just the linguistic and cultural divide there. My Spanish language and culture knowledge is in Mexico and Spain I did make sure I read the introduction, for that reason. I do not think this disconnect was a result of shoddy translation. There's just not a good way to translate the art and flow of the natural language. Even in my gringa tongue, the Spanish sounded beautiful when spoken aloud. Now that I'm thinking of it, perhaps it was the mysticism influence that contributed most to the disconnect. The introduction mentioned that Mistral drew inspiration from Teresa de Avila, a 17th century Spanish mystic nun, whom I have read and likewise didn't understand.

So because I wasn't gaining much understanding in either English or Spanish, I put this one down about half way through. I did expand my Spanish vocabulary. I also noted several words that Mistral liked to repeat, those being albatross and demented. Overall, I probably won't come back to this one and would choose something else to work on my Spanish vocabulary.

I thought that was really nice. BUT the formatting of the Kindle edition is horrendous in the poems portion of the book; mixing the Spanish and the English versions. The layout of this bilingual edition is a little confusing in the kindle edition. I assume in the physical book the left side page is one language and the right side page is the other, but on the kindle, this means you get a few verses in Spanish, then English, then Spanish again, etc.

It makes it a little disjointed to read sometimes.

I did enjoy the poems. Lo recomiendo a quienes les guste este tema. Jul 23, Al Capwned rated it really liked it Shelves: Poetry is impossible to be translated without losing anything of the original text. This work by Gabriela Mistral made me wishing I knew spanish better in order to fully read and appreciate it in the original language. I appreciate Mistral's style, even though it's not my favorite. A pioneer of Latin American poetry May 07, Valerie rated it it was ok Shelves: The first half of this short poetry collection is so bad that it was hard to muddle through.

The second half was quite good, particularly the three about Greek women of legend.

Jun 10, Al-anoud Al-Sarhan rated it really liked it Shelves: This was one of goodreads suggestions. Apr 07, Sophie rated it really liked it Shelves: This is the first time I come across Mistral's poetry, and it's all because of Google's doodle. I absolutely fell in love with her poems, they truly spoke to my heart.

It is definitely a collection in which I will find comfort. Dec 30, l. The translation seems a bit jerky to me Lissa rated it really liked it Mar 03, There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Okay, okay, Read Harder and Nobel Women are good reasons too, but that's not the point. This is a great collection that any woman could relate to. Home Groups Talk Zeitgeist.

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No current Talk conversations about this book. Madwomen Between the concept of the collection, that this is the bilingual edition, and that it has a short biography of the author, it's kind of a one stop shop for this great poet.

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