Poems of Good Love...and Sometimes Fantasy

Jonathan Cohen's translation of Pedro Mir's Poemas de buen amor... y a veces de fantasia showcases the political and sensual sides of Mir's work, challenging the translator to convey the opaquer language of the collection in English while staying true to Mir's Marxist historical materialism. Despite some negatives, Mir's celebration of love and sex as a biological gift is a triumph.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 68 pages
Publication date: 26 January 2023
Publisher: Peepal Tree Press Ltd

Jonathan Cohen's translation of Pedro Mir's Poemas de buen amor... y a veces de fantasia, published after his translation of Contracanto a Walt Whitman / Countersong to Walt Whitman, presents a different facet of Mir's work. While the Countersong is intensely political, the Poems of Good Love are sensual and erotic. The translator faces the challenge of creating English language poems that are faithful to the deliberately opaque language of this collection, while maintaining the communicative clarity of Mir's more overtly political works. Mir sets himself the task of writing about love in a way that aligns with his Marxist historical materialism, challenging the conventions of love poetry that perceive love as a disembodied spiritual experience.

While there were some negative aspects to Mir's approach, as reflected in the introduction by Silvio Torres-Saillant, it is evident that fifty years ago, feminism had not yet fully permeated Mir's Latin American Marxism. There are elements of patriarchy and religiously Catholic beliefs in Mir's insistence that the primary purpose of love is procreation. Nevertheless, what Mir triumphantly offers us is a celebration of the carnality of love and the sheer joy of sex as the biological gift that may ensure our survival as a human species.

Through his translation, Cohen allows readers to appreciate Mir's profound exploration of love and sexuality, offering a unique perspective on the complexities of human experience.

Dimension: 206 x 135 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781845235604