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Title: Light from a Nearby Window: Contemporary Mexican Poetry by Juvenal Acosta Hernandez, Juvenal Acosta ISBN: 0-87286-281-X Publisher: City Lights Books Pub. Date: January, 1994 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: A Clean, Well-lighted Window
Comment: This much needed anthology of contemporary Mexican poetry, published back in 1993, offers English language readers a glimpse of some significant and interesting poets from Mexico. Editor Juvenal Acosta selected twenty-one poets for inclusion in this bilingual edition. As is inevitably the case, some will lament absences (personally, I wish Blanca Luz Pulido had been included) and others will wonder at some of the inclusions, but that is the nature of these collections. Overall, Acosta presents a balanced overview of contemporary verse from Mexico, focusing on those poets who are now (2002), in many cases, in their peak years of creativity. As the editor points out in his brief introduction, "In 'Light from a Nearby Window' I have tried to bring together poets who are not only some of the best in Mexico, but are also among my literary heroes. Many of them have been my companions, through their poems, during my elf-imposed exile in the United States." Many of the poets included here have continued to have success in terms of recognition from publishers and award givers, so time seems to be lending weight to Acosta's judgement and taste. For example, the youngest poet in the anthology, María Baranda, had published only two collections at the time this book came out; since then she has published four additional works.
Among those included, I feel a special affinity for the work of Antonio Deltoro, Isabel Quiñonez, and Ricardo Castillo. The former two are introspective and disquieting. Deltoro's "La casa vendida" is a minor stroke of genius. Ricardo Castillo's voice stands out for its irreverence and humor. His "Oda a las ganas" ("Ode to the urge") is delightful, evocative enough to just make you want to put down your book and take a big leak.
A brief note on the translations, which were provided by a group of eleven translators, some of whom are noted poets in their own right. Most are excellent and some are inspired; a few, unfortunately, are simply incompetent.