I visited the Cleveland Public Library recently to pick out Spanish books for some friends who are learning the language.  The library has an entire floor dedicated to foreign languages.  I found a vocabulary book with pictures, a bilingual cook book, and a book of poetry for myself.

I realize the book looks like it was published for children,but the poems are not nursery rhymes.  The book is a collection of poetry by some of the best writers in the Americas (thats North, Central, and South) and Spain.

I recognize a lot of the names, including Cuban essayist Jose Marti and Ruben Dario, a poet from Nicaragua who lived at the same time as Edgar Allen Poe.  I purchased Dario’s collection from a book store in San Jose, Costa Rica after learning about him in a Latin American literature course.

There is also a poem by Shel Silverstein, translated into Spanish.  (Really cool sidebar:  Silverstein’s poem is the only one to have an accompanying drawing by the author rather than something done by the book’s illustrator.)

As an exercise in translating and studying poetry, I will be posting a few of my favorite poems from this collection with my own translations.  I’ll always include a link on where you can buy this book, and where to get a collection of the author’s other works.  Hopefully Boy With the Boot and others who are interested in Spanish or poetry will stop by.

Finally, here is the best poem I wrote recently: Phoenix