March 3, 2005: Headlines: COS - Peru: Writing - Peru: Poetry: Andean Worldview: Amazon: Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens reviews "Antología poética" by Cesar Vallejo

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Peru: Peace Corps Peru: The Peace Corps in Peru: March 3, 2005: Headlines: COS - Peru: Writing - Peru: Poetry: Andean Worldview: Amazon: Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens reviews "Antología poética" by Cesar Vallejo

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Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens reviews "Antología poética" by Cesar Vallejo

Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens reviews Antología poética by Cesar Vallejo

Peru RPCV Hugh Pickens reviews "Antología poética" by Cesar Vallejo

There has been no experience in my life so transforming as my three years of service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru thirty-five years ago, and one of the parts of that experience that still speaks to me most is having had the opportunity to hear César Vallejo's poems recited in their original language in the Andean world in which they were conceived.

The two poems in this collection that I come back to again and again are "Piedra Negra sobre una Piedra Blanca" and "The Heraldos Negros."

The poem "Piedra Negra sobre una Piedra Blanca" distills the suffering and demonstrates the courage with which César Vallejo faced life. Composed in 1936 while he was absorbed by the Loyalist cause in Spain, Vallejo foresaw his own death in the poem when he wrote: "Me moriré en París con aguacero, un día del cual tengo ya el recuerdo" - a death that was to occur two years later at age 46 when he died of an intestinal infection in a Paris sanitorium


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Piedra Negra sobre una Piedra Blanca Date: March 16 2005 No: 496 Piedra Negra sobre una Piedra Blanca

Me morire en Paris con aguacero,
Un dia del cual tengo ya recuerdo.
Me morire en Paris y no me corro-
Talvez un Jueves, como es hoy, de otoño.

Jueves sera, porque hoy, Jueves, que proso
Estos versos, los humedos me he puesto
A la mala y , jamas como hoy, me he vuelto,
Con todo mi camino, a verme solo.

Cesar Vallejo ha muerto, le pegaban
Todos sin que el les haga nada;
La daban duro con un palo y un duro.

Tambien con una soga; son testigos
Los dias Jueves y los huesos humeros,
La soledad, la lluvia, los caminos.



"Los Heraldos Negros" contains only 17 lines and takes less than a minute to recite, but those 17 lines have taken me a lifetime to understand. Once again Vallejo delivers a shocking first line - "Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes... ¡Yo no sé!" - that the rest of the poem expands with violent imagery. If the measure of a poem is to how deeply it touches your soul, then I consider this poem to be one of the greatest I have heard.


Los Heraldos Negros Date: March 16 2005 No: 498 Los Heraldos Negros

Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes... ¡Yo no sé!
Golpes como del odio de Dios; como si ante ellos,
la resaca de todo lo sufrido
se empozara en el alma... ¡Yo no sé!

Son pocos; pero son... Abren zanjas oscuras
en el rostro más fiero y en el lomo más fuerte.
Serán tal vez los potros de bárbaros Atilas;
o los heraldos negros que nos manda la Muerte.

Son las caídas hondas de los Cristos del alma
de alguna fe adorable que el Destino blasfema.
Esos golpes sangrientos son las crepitaciones
de algún pan que en la puerta del horno se nos quema.

Y el hombre... Pobre... ¡pobre! Vuelve los ojos, como
cuando por sobre el hombro nos llama una palmada;
vuelve los ojos locos, y todo lo vivido
se empoza, como charco de culpa, en la mirada.

Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes... ¡Yo no sé!



Highly recommended.





When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Date: February 7 2005 No: 438 The Peace Corps Library
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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC Date: March 5 2005 No: 482 RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC
RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

Add your info now to the RPCV Directory Date: March 13 2005 No: 489 Add your info now to the RPCV Directory
Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now.

March 12, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Date: March 13 2005 No: 487 March 12, 2005: This Week's Top Stories
The Coyne Column: Read Winning Essay by PCV 12 Mar
Laura Germino helps Migrant Workers Advocacy Group 12 Mar
Sam Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group 11 Mar
Fred O'Regan writes Op-Ed on Canada seal hunt 11 Mar
Fern Holland remembered In Oklahoma 10 Mar
Mountaineer Charles Houston receives honorary degree 10 Mar
Elaine Chao led delegation for President's inauguration 10 Mar
Chris Dodd wins Hispanic Capital Award 9 Mar
Pat Waak is new Colorado Democratic Party Chair 9 Mar
Chris Matthews withdraws from Florida Event 9 Mar
Timothy J. O'Brien returns to Korea 8 Mar
Tomas Belsky's paintings inspired by service in Brazil 7 Mar
Christopher Hill to be Assistant Secretary of State 7 Mar
Allen Moore is Sen Frist's Deputy Chief of Staff 7 Mar
Jim Doyle heads trade delegation to Mexico 5 Mar
Al Kamen says Narcissus Is Now Greek AND Roman 4 Mar
Diana Gomez says to do something about Peace 4 Mar

March 12, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News Date: March 14 2005 No: 494 March 12, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News
San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar
Alaska RPCVs speak for dividend 4 Mar
Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar
Maryland RPCVs lobby their Senators for Peace Corps 3 Mar
Connecticut RPCVs hold fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar
Charles Baquet speaks at Louisiana PC Breakfast on March 4 28 Feb

RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

March 1: National Day of Action Date: February 28 2005 No: 471 March 1: National Day of Action
Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.
Make a call for the Peace Corps Date: February 19 2005 No: 453 Make a call for the Peace Corps
PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.
Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Date: February 17 2005 No: 445 Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot?
Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.
WWII participants became RPCVs Date: February 13 2005 No: 442 WWII participants became RPCVs
Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.
Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps Date: February 7 2005 No: 436 Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps
The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

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Story Source: Amazon

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Peru; Writing - Peru; Poetry; Andean Worldview

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