Poems from Debris and Ashes: A New Book from Consuelo Hernandez

Taken from LIVE WRITE Blog

Consuelo Hernandez, a Colombian poet who teaches at American University, has just released her newest book of poems, Poems from Debris and Ashes. It is a beautiful, moving, rich collection. Her poems, in both Spanish and English, the translation is by Maureen Contreni, burst with beautiful images and a longing you can feel. She addresses the pain of September 11th, the beauty of nature, and the rage we all sometimes feel toward those who make war. In "Servants of the Same Sea" she reflects on the wide variety of lives human beings lead, all connecting in one place, however willing or unwilling we are. She tells us: "The river's final triumph doesn't matter." In "Remnants" Hernandez tells us of one who has learned to "melt myself in silence/ and to make nectar and fruit/ from my internal well of rainwater."

Those of you who have read "Cut Loose The Body: An Anthology of Poetry on Torture and Fernando Botero's Abu Ghraib," will remember Consuelo's beautiful poems there: "War" and "My Country is Bleeding." Both of those poems are also in this collection. As one who can read a bit of Spanish, this collection takes me to the Spanish poems, after I have read the poems in English, giving the reader yet another way to appreciate Consuelo's artful use of language. This book is available from XLibris. It is a beautiful and necessary book.

Joseph Ross (c) All Rights reserved