Today, we aim to highlight poetry by Galician authors. This regional language, mainly spoken in the Northwest of Spain, boasts a centuries-long literary history and reminds us of the richness of cultures and of the linguistic diversity to be found in the Iberian Peninsula and in Europe.
Here are three recommendations of poetry books by Galician authors in translation for you to read this week.
#1 The Desert by María do Cebreiro (Shearsman Books, May 2019, bilingual), translated by Keith Payne. New in May 2019, the writing of this book was very inspired by the audio-visual piece Et la guette est a peine commencée by Tiquinn Collective.
#2 The Mouth of the Earth by Galician writer Manuel Rivas (March 2019), translated by Lorna Shaughnessy, also published this year by Shearsman. A previous translation of poems by Rivas translated by Shaughnessey (The Disappearance of Snow, Shearsman Books, 2012), was shortlisted for the Popescu Prize 2013.
You can find a couple of poems by Manuel Rivas here on the Poetry Society’s website.
#3 Six Galician Poets (Arc Publications, September 2016, bilingual), also translated by Keith Payne and edited by Manuela Palacios. This innovative anthology of contemporary Galician poets includes poems by Xosé María Álvarez Cáccamo, Yolanda Castaño, María do Cebreiro, Estevo Creus, Chus Pato & Daniel Salgado.
Take advantage of our promotional code TRANSLATIONTHURSDAY at the checkout on our website and get 30% discount on the books mentioned above!
And why not become a Poetry Book Society Translation Member to keep up to date with the latest poetry in translation and bilingual editions? Every quarter you will receive the PBS Translation Selection chosen by our selector George Szirtes, alongside a full commentary in our PBS Bulletin.