Cage by Astrid Cabral, Alexis Levitin

Abstract

VERSE Astrid Cabral. Cage. Alexis Levitin, tr. Austin, Texas. Host. 2008. v + 91 pages. $12. isbn978-0-924047-44-2 A native ofManaus, the capital city of the State of Amazonas in north ern Brazil, Astrid Cabral is a widely acclaimed poet, short-story writer, and literary critic. She was one of the leading names in theClube da Madrugada (Club ofDawn), a liter ary movement that, in the 1950s, finally brought the aesthetic inno vations of Brazilian modernism to the Amazonian region. This resulted in a formal renewal of Amazonian literature and sparked new inter est in the local culture and reality as literary themes. Cabral's oeuvre is influenced by the reality of her native land, especially the omni present Amazon River, its flora and fauna. Her writings also express her concern for the environment and a keen awareness of how human beings and nature are irrevocably bound together. This awareness is quite visi ble inCage, a personal bestiary that reveals the poet's curiosity toward animals, theway they live and act, and how theysurprisingly resemble human beings or, conversely, how human behavior often resembles that of animals. Cabral writes about oxen, jaguars, lizards, flamingos, the pink dolphin of theAmazon River, and insects as well as dragons, two faced dogs, and other beasts. By observing these creatures that lie outside, in her backyard or in the jungle, Cabral weaves with careful and concise language some insight ful observations about the beasts that liewithin us. The poet shows that the beast may be our own fears and desires, as in "Cao bifronte" (Two-faced dog) or in "A fera" (The beast), inwhich Thanatos duels with Eros through out a lifetime,finallydefeating love and the poet herself: "ate que se apossou de vez do amado / e com a bocarra de sangue manchada / riu e gozou com a minha solid?o" (until he took control for good of theone I loved / and with his wide mouth stainedwith blood / laughed and mocked my solitude). Here the image of the beast embodies very intimate feelings (itmay be read as an expression of grief for thedeath ofCabral's husband), while inother poems, such as "Cave Canem," the beast is the poet's angry voice "howling" against "cages of cour tesy" and for social justice. Cabral's bestiary is wide and varied, as are the emotions and reflections on exis tence it conveys. The bilingual Portuguese-Eng lishedition allows thereader to fully appreciate the poet's simple, clear, and precise language, a true poetics of no excess. Alexis Levitin's trans lations are competent and demon stratehis attention to the sounds of words and taste for rhymes, as in C. R CAVAFY I II I. I \ I I \ I s II I !) I' () I. \I S the firstcngtisk translation, with DANIEL MENDELSOHN the opening poem, "Laura's Magic." At times, however, the English lan guage is not able to reach the same degree of conciseness as the original poems. Nevertheless, this is a pre cious littlebook, a cage fullofwon derful and surprising creatures. Cristina Ferreira Pinto-Bailey Washington& Lee University introduction andcommentary, by C. P. Cavafy. Collected Poems. Dan- E iel Mendelsohn, tr. New York. Knopf. E 2009. Ixi + 547 pages. $35. isbn 978-0- | 375-40096-4 1 -. The Unfinished Poems. Dan- E iel Mendelsohn, tr. New York. Knopf. E 2009. xviii + 121 pages. $30. isbn 978- | 0-307-26546-3 1 It seems likely that theAlexandri- E an Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, E whose standards forauthoring and E publishing his own poems were E exacting, would feel that his crite- E ria had been met by Daniel Men- E delsohn's translation intoEnglish of E all ofCavafy's poems, including the E collected and "unfinished" verse. E Mendelsohn isuniquely qualified to E render thesepoems intoEnglish, for E he is both a scholar and a linguist, E I^H September-October 2009 i69 ...