Artikel
Editorial: 1 February 2010
28 januari 2010
This does not necessarily mean writing merely in reaction to European legacy, however. Though born in Colombia, Lauren Mendinueta has also lived in Mexico, Spain and Portugal. Although her work has been informed, therefore, by other dominant global cultures and literature (Auden, Larkin and Eliot are cited as among her influences) Jon Juaristi argues that she has “succeeded in building a tradition to suit [her poetry] without being seduced by it”. It seems her approach to re-appropriation and negotiation of outside cultural influences is in part what makes her voice unique − and perhaps, paradoxically, authentically ‘Colombian’.
Liana Mejía’s work evokes Colombian identity in a different way: the atmosphere of the Colombian city of Medellín, legendary for its violence and crime, is implicit throughout her poems, argues Guzmán. While a reader unfamiliar with Colombia may miss allusions to Mejía’s home city, themes of loneliness, death and violence are certainly identifiable in her work. However, in her most successful poems, such as the pared-down ‘Stranger in My Memory’, love is also offered up as a potential healing force amid disquiet, loss and decay.
Up next:
In the next issue of PIW, published on 15 February, we’ll feature K. Siva Reddy, Yumlembam Ibomcha and Eunice de Souza, three poets from India. If you missed it, you can read our 15 January issue, featuring Dutch poets Ramsey Nasr and Tsjêbbe Hettinga, here.
In this issue we welcome three new poets to the pages of PIW. Hot on the heels of our Dutch and Flemish Poetry Day issue, the Belgium domain presents a cross-section of Flemish poet Peter Theunynck’s work, from his whimsical ‘Little Green Spade’ to a subtle, moving elegy, ‘Mother’. Reflective observation characterises Theunynck’s writing, along with close attention to form and sound. There’s a quietness about his rich, crafted images, yet also a sense of inconclusiveness and simmering possibilities.
From the Colombian domain, Jairo Guzmán’s article, ‘A short history of Colombian poetry’, gives an informative overview of the movements and trends that have shaped the nations poetry since the start of the twentieth century, from modernism to Nadaism to the work of the ‘Golpe de Dados’ generation. Over the course of their careers, most poets, navigating their way through influences of their forbears and contemporaries, seek and hone their own distinct poetic voice. As Guzmán shows, this search is perhaps more complex in places such as Colombia, a country with no coherent national or cultural identity, where poets also face the challenge of collectively establishing a distinct Colombian poetic voice.This does not necessarily mean writing merely in reaction to European legacy, however. Though born in Colombia, Lauren Mendinueta has also lived in Mexico, Spain and Portugal. Although her work has been informed, therefore, by other dominant global cultures and literature (Auden, Larkin and Eliot are cited as among her influences) Jon Juaristi argues that she has “succeeded in building a tradition to suit [her poetry] without being seduced by it”. It seems her approach to re-appropriation and negotiation of outside cultural influences is in part what makes her voice unique − and perhaps, paradoxically, authentically ‘Colombian’.
Liana Mejía’s work evokes Colombian identity in a different way: the atmosphere of the Colombian city of Medellín, legendary for its violence and crime, is implicit throughout her poems, argues Guzmán. While a reader unfamiliar with Colombia may miss allusions to Mejía’s home city, themes of loneliness, death and violence are certainly identifiable in her work. However, in her most successful poems, such as the pared-down ‘Stranger in My Memory’, love is also offered up as a potential healing force amid disquiet, loss and decay.
Up next:
In the next issue of PIW, published on 15 February, we’ll feature K. Siva Reddy, Yumlembam Ibomcha and Eunice de Souza, three poets from India. If you missed it, you can read our 15 January issue, featuring Dutch poets Ramsey Nasr and Tsjêbbe Hettinga, here.
© Sarah Ream
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