Downhill and Rock & Core

by Gabriel Aresti, Gabriel Aresti

Gabriel Aresti (1933–1975) was the poetic voice of both resistance and renewal for a generation and beyond of Basques in the 1960s and until his untimely death at the age of forty-one. The collections published here for the first time, Downhill (Maldan behera, 1960) and Rock & Core (Harri eta herri, 1964), represent two distinct periods in his poetry: the first an epic, dreamlike, and visionary tale of descent and ascent, death and rebirth, a symbolist treatise on resurrection told through the voice of a superman, an Ego. In a complete stylistic about-turn, meanwhile, the second is a robust, gritty, and direct tract, socially conscious poetry written in a clear, comprehensible form that plays on the metaphor of stone and rock as resistance, endurance. Amaia Gabantxo’s stunning translation of these two seminal works from the original Basque—the first time they have been presented in English—brings the urgency and force of the originals to life and will take readers on an unforgettable journey deep into the rocky core of Basque culture. The way is long, and it is an evocative, honest, sometimes harrowing journey, but the result is a treasure that will live long in the memory.

290 pages, Paperback

Published April 6, 2017

Reviews

[Floris Meertens]

Ik vond de symbolische vroege stijl van Downhill toch spannender dan het politieke engagement van Rock & Core, al is het wel een van de weinige bundels waarin vaderlandslievendheid me soms echt raakt.

Deze man praat ook meerdere keren in zijn maatschappijkritische poëzie dat veel vrouwen hem knap vinden. Alhoewel ik de durf wel kan waarderen, heb ik wat foto's opgezocht en betwijfel de claims een beetje.

[Mills College Library]

899.921 A681d 2017