pickAs I was leaving to return this collection to the library, I was telling my wife about Sister Juana. Without really thinking I said, “You know, it‘s pretty amazing that the poetry of a Spanish nun from the 17th century could reach through time to affect someone like me.” I sorta stunned myself.
Power of Poetry.
A favorite sonnet from the collection. The epitaph got cut off though. It says:
“On the death of the most excellent Señora Marquesa de Mancera”
Ok. I had a tough time figuring how to get both these in the same shot; this ⬆️ was the best I could do. The top is Edith Grossman‘s translation in the tagged book. The bottom I posted a few weeks ago from an anthology called The Serpent & the Fire; that translation is by John Campion. Notice where they differ & where they align? Do you prefer one over the other? I think I like Campion‘s best but Grossman‘s is probably closer to the original.
“ A vivir ignorado
de tus luces, me ausento
donde ni aun mi mal sirva
a tu desdén de obsequio. “
“To live unobserved
by your eyes, I now go
where never pain of mine
need flatter your disdain.”
Whenever you get the chance, please check out the life and works of this remarkable woman from the 17th century. Called “The Tenth Muse” Her poems are an exquisite example of the Baroque style.
And if it is inopportune/ for you that I lack a soul,/ in me you can instill one/ of the many you have captured:/ for since I gave her soul to you/ and my being names itself yours,/ [...] / you are the soul of this body,/ and the body of this shadow.
Still missing a couple, what did I get myself into? 😳
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#readingchallenge
Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz: Selected Works | 
