The Other Shore: 100 Poems by Rafael Alberti

by Rafael Alberti

This edition of Rafael Alberti's work contains 100 poems spanning a period of 31 years of his life: from his first book Marinero en tierra (Sailor on Land) - for which he was awarded the national prize for poetry in 1925 - to Baladas y canciones del Parana (Ballads and Songs of the Parana), 1953-54. Volume I of the KOSMOS Modern Poets in Translation Series. Spanish-English, xiii + 234 pages. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 80-84602.

Paperback

First published August 1, 1981

About the author

Rafael Alberti Merello (December 16, 1902 - October 28, 1999) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. Alberti published his first books of poetry towards the end of the 1920s: Marinero en tierra ('Sailor on Dry Land', 1925), La Amante ('The Mistress', 1926) and El alba del alhelí ('The Dawn of the Wallflower', 1927). This early work fell broadly into the Cancionero tradition, though from a markedly avant-garde perspective.

After falling in with the other members of the Generation of '27, Alberti began to show the profound influence of Luis de Góngora on his work, most obviously in Cal y canto ('Quicklime and Plainsong', 1929). It was, however, the introspective surrealism of Sobre los ángeles ('Concerning the Angels', 1929), whose tone was perhaps anticipated by some of the more sombre moments of Cal y canto, that established Alberti as a mature poet. Sobre los ángeles is widely considered to be Alberti's best work.