MEET THE AUTHOR
Since the appearance of her first collection of poems, Mariposa en cenizas (1959) to the present, Julia Uceda has developed one of the most complex and coherent bodies of work in contemporary Spanish poetry. For over sixty years she has incorporated numerous influences but never failed to sound exactly like herself, and in the process, she established her voice as one of the most unique, recognizable and authentic in contemporary Spanish poetry. Her widely recognized work has received many awards and has been translated into numerous languages, including Chinese, Portuguese, French, Italian, German, and English. The poems included in this anthology show a sample of the motifs, themes, symbols, and references that recur in Uceda's poetry, linking her earlier poems to her more recent ones in a perfectly interlocked worldview. This anthology is the most comprehensive and organic collection of Uceda's work translated into English to date. We trust it will gain her numerous and fervent new readers and we hope it will enhance her reputation globally as one of the paramount contemporary Spanish poets.
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Uceda was born in Seville in 1925. She completed his doctorate in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Seville and was a professor in the United States and Ireland. In 1976, she returned to Spain and settled in Galicia. She is head professor of Spanish Literature at the National Institutes of Secondary Education and Universities. Her first books, written in the ’60s, show compromised poetry, skeptical of the religious premises of the times. In the ’60s, she embarked in a new direction, with more reflective poetry that the critics have compared to José Hierro. Her book “En el viento, hacia el mar” won the National Poetry Prize in 2003. Uceda is a member of the Sevillian Royal Academy of Letters and the International Association of Hispanists.
Awards
National Poetry Prize (2003) Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2016) Federico García Lorca International Poetry Award (2019)
MEET THE TRANSLATORS
Francisco Uceda es profesor de Educación en la City College de Nueva York y profesor de lenguas en el instituto científico del Bronx. Es licenciado en Antropología y Arte (Bard College), y Filología Hispánica e Inglesa (Universidad de Almería), y Máster en Educación de Español como Segundas Lenguas (Universidad de la Rioja) y Master en Liderazgo Educativo (Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) Ha sido traductor académico durante los últimos veinte años, especializándose en estudios de género y cine. Su relación con la poesía empieza en la Universidad de Almería en los años 90, consiguiendo empezar una publicación de palabra e imagen que vería varios libros. El primer libro co-autorado se tituló La desolación del náufrago (2000). Recientemente, ha publicado otro libro que combina la imagen y el texto poético en un nuevo libro Fulgores Vanos (2021).
Francisco Uceda teaches Education at the City College of New York and World Languages at The Bronx High School of Science. He holds degrees in Anthropology and Art (Bard College), and Hispanic and English Philology (University of Almeria), a Master’s degree in Teaching Spanish as Second Languages (University of La Rioja), and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership (Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts). He has been an academic translator for over two decades, specializing in film and gender studies. His relationship with poetry began at the University of Almeria in the 90s, managing to start a publication combining word and image that would see several books. La desolación del naúfrago (The desolation of the shipwrecked man, 1995), was the first book Uceda co-authored. Recently, he has published another book that combines the image and the poetic text in a new book Fulgores Vanos (Vain fame, 2021).
Maria Jose Zubieta teaches Translation at New York University (NYU). As part of her teaching work she has participated as coordinator in three collaborative Spanish-to-English translation projects, with professors and students from several universities. The first one was an English translation of a poetic anthology by the Spanish poet Jenaro Talens, in collaboration with the University of Granada, which was published by Jizo Ediciones in 2013 as El hombre que miraba el cielo/The Man Who Gazed At The Sky. Her second collaborative project was an English translation of an anthology by the Peruvian poet José Watanabe, done jointly between NYU and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. It resulted in the book Todo cuerpo es totem/Every Body Is Totem, published in 2019 by ArtePoética Press. This book is the result of her third collaborative translation project.
María José Zubieta es profesora de traducción en la Universidad de Nueva York (NYU). Como parte de su labor docente ha coordinado tres proyectos de traducción colectiva del español al inglés con estudiantes y profesores de varias universidades. Su primera participación fue en la traducción al inglés de una antología del poeta español Jenaro Talens, realizada en conjunto con la Universidad de Granada. El libro que surgió como resultado del proyecto fue publicado por Jizo Ediciones en 2013 con el título El hombre que miraba el cielo. El segundo proyecto fue una traducción al inglés de una antología del poeta peruano José Watanabe, realizada con estudiantes y profesores de NYU y de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Ese libro fue publicado por ArtePoética Press en 2019 con el título Todo cuerpo es totem. Este libro es el resultado de su tercer proyecto de traducción colectiva.
Mary Arroyo Oliver graduated from New York University in 2021 with a B.A. in Spanish. Her poetry was published in The Rational Creature, MOODZine Magazine, and West 10th, and her translations appear in the anthologies Staten Island, mi historia/Staten Island, My Story and And a Woman Walked and Walked and Walked. Mary is a Prose Editor for The Rational Creature and was previously Staff Editor for Esferas, the graduate and undergraduate journal of NYU’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese.
Mary Arroyo Oliver se graduó de la Universidad de Nueva York en 2021 con especialización en Español. Su poesía fue publicado en The Rational Creature, MOODZine Magazine, and West 10th, y sus traducciones aparecen en las antologías Staten Island, mi historia/Staten Island, My Story y And A Woman Walked and Walked and Walked. Mary es editora de prosa para The Rational Creature y antes fue editora para Esferas, la revista de lxs estudiantes universitarixs y lxs alumnxs de posgrado del departamento de Español y Portugués en NYU.
Lola Granger-Jourdan was born and raised in London. Lola Granger-Jourdan was born and raised in London. Growing up bilingual speaking French and English at home, she has always been passionate about languages. She developed a love for Spanish during her yearlong stay in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she immersed herself in the works of Latin American authors and filmmakers. A recent graduate from NYU, she is about to start a Masters in Film and Media at the New School. She hopes to pursue a multilingual career incorporating translation and the visual arts.
Lola Granger-Jourdan nació y creció en Londres. Alhaber crecido bilingüe, hablando francés e inglés encasa, siempre le han apasionado los idiomas.Desarrolló su amor por el español durante su estanciade un año en Buenos Aires, Argentina, donde sesumergió en las obras de autores y cineastaslatinoamericanos. Recién graduada en la Universidadde Nueva York, está a punto de empezar un máster encine y medios de comunicación en la New School.Espera seguir una carrera multilingüe que incorporetraducción y artes visuales.
Alexa Mamoulides holds a BA in Spanish and Linguistics from New York University. She grew up in Texas and Louisiana but now lives in NYC. Alexa works in scientific research publishing as well as being a freelance copyeditor. In her free time, she likes to read, take dance classes, and pursue choreography projects. It was an honor to contribute to this poetry project and she hopes to continue in literary translation.
Alexa Mamoulides tiene una licenciatura en español y lingüística de la Universidad de Nueva York. Se crió en Texas y Louisiana, pero ahora vive en Nueva York. Alexa trabaja en publicaciones de investigación científica, además de ser correctora independiente. En su tiempo libre, le gusta leer, tomar clases de baile y realizar proyectos de coreografía. Fue un honor contribuir a este proyecto de poesía y espera continuar en la traducción literaria.
Carlos F. Martínez-Davis, M. Phil & M.A. in Spanish Literature, New York University; M.A. in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages), Teachers College, Columbia University. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Spanish & Portuguese Department at NYU. His research interests include foreign language pedagogy, second language acquisition, and Spanish literature. He is a member of the “Traductor Colectivo NYU” and has collaborated in three translation projects. He is an avid walker who has hiked the Camino the Santiago in Spain and the 88 temples pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan.
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