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Poesía. Alfonso Reyes (Capilla Alfonsina)
Poesía es un libro en el que Adolfo Castañón reúne los versos de Alfonso Reyes que habían aparecido dispersos en los veintiséis volúmenes de sus Obras completas. Los cincuenta textos de este último título de la colección Capilla Alfonsina se encuentran organizados en cuatro ""Raíces"", sobre su familia e infancia; ""Insomnios, compañías, saudades"", acerca del amor, la amistad y la soledad; ""Convivios"", sobre su poética y el arte de vivir; y ""Grecias"", que contiene los poemas mayormente configurados en torno a la Hélade.
- GenresPoetry
380 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 15, 2019
The poetry of Alfonso Reyes
In the 1952 “Anthology of Mexican Poetry” Octavio Paz states, “a methodical study of Mexican literature ought to start with Alfonso Reyes.” This small but encompassing book includes his major poems covering a period from 1923 to 1959. In short, a very good place to start.
Reyes is a bridge to modernism, writing in a very lyrical style, although he covers a lot of styles, themes and ideas. The book is divided into four categories: Raíces (Roots), Insomnios, Compañías, Saudades (Insomnias, Companies, Longing), Convivos (Living Together) and Grecias (Greeks).
There is sound play (Los pavos de Susana), to historical (Villa de Unió), concerning love (Mis amores), mourning (Balada de los amigos muertos), and a requiem (Cantata en la tumba de Federico García Lorca). One of the more fun reads is Minuta in which each short poem recreates a fabulous meal, an ode to San Pascual Bailón in the 16th century. The difference in food and wine varies according to the style of each poem. Delicious!
However the real interest for me was in his Greek poems. Reyes was a very erudite scholar. He knew his Greek theatre and it truly shines in Ifigenia Cruel. Written in 1923, he picks up on Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris, basically creating a short form of the play written in Spanish. The mood, the words, the Greek chorus are all here.
The story? Iphigenia does not die at the hands of her father, Agamemnon who is forced to sacrifice her so the Greeks could have favourable winds to sail to Troy. Instead, Euripides wisks Iphigenia away to far away Tauris (the Black Sea) where she is a priestess, sacrificing all Greeks who end up on their shore. Then one day, her brother Orestes arrives. He has taken revenge on their mother Klytemenstra, who had killed Agamemnon, after his supposed sacrifice of their daughter on the shore. Orestes reawakens his sister to say the curse on the family is over. A great yarn if there ever was one and all captured to the heart beat of the original Greek.
What could top this? Homero en Cuernavaca (Homer in Cuernavaca) retells Reyes’ thoughts on the Iliad. Reset in Mexico, the characters are roasted in great fun. Helen of Troy, Paris, Achilles, Menalaus and Agamemnon, as well as the host of gods had me thinking, yes, 2500 years of literature comes down to a bunch of louts lusting over a woman. Really? Really. Written in 1948, this poem speaks very well today.
There is a very informative introduction by Adolfo Castañón that eases one into the poetry.
In short, Alfonso Reyes was a brilliant man who spun some very wonderful, powerful words. His breadth and scale is poignant, funny and enjoyable. Octavio Paz was right. If you are learning about Mexican literature, he must not be overlooked.
In the 1952 “Anthology of Mexican Poetry” Octavio Paz states, “a methodical study of Mexican literature ought to start with Alfonso Reyes.” This small but encompassing book includes his major poems covering a period from 1923 to 1959. In short, a very good place to start.
Reyes is a bridge to modernism, writing in a very lyrical style, although he covers a lot of styles, themes and ideas. The book is divided into four categories: Raíces (Roots), Insomnios, Compañías, Saudades (Insomnias, Companies, Longing), Convivos (Living Together) and Grecias (Greeks).
There is sound play (Los pavos de Susana), to historical (Villa de Unió), concerning love (Mis amores), mourning (Balada de los amigos muertos), and a requiem (Cantata en la tumba de Federico García Lorca). One of the more fun reads is Minuta in which each short poem recreates a fabulous meal, an ode to San Pascual Bailón in the 16th century. The difference in food and wine varies according to the style of each poem. Delicious!
However the real interest for me was in his Greek poems. Reyes was a very erudite scholar. He knew his Greek theatre and it truly shines in Ifigenia Cruel. Written in 1923, he picks up on Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris, basically creating a short form of the play written in Spanish. The mood, the words, the Greek chorus are all here.
The story? Iphigenia does not die at the hands of her father, Agamemnon who is forced to sacrifice her so the Greeks could have favourable winds to sail to Troy. Instead, Euripides wisks Iphigenia away to far away Tauris (the Black Sea) where she is a priestess, sacrificing all Greeks who end up on their shore. Then one day, her brother Orestes arrives. He has taken revenge on their mother Klytemenstra, who had killed Agamemnon, after his supposed sacrifice of their daughter on the shore. Orestes reawakens his sister to say the curse on the family is over. A great yarn if there ever was one and all captured to the heart beat of the original Greek.
What could top this? Homero en Cuernavaca (Homer in Cuernavaca) retells Reyes’ thoughts on the Iliad. Reset in Mexico, the characters are roasted in great fun. Helen of Troy, Paris, Achilles, Menalaus and Agamemnon, as well as the host of gods had me thinking, yes, 2500 years of literature comes down to a bunch of louts lusting over a woman. Really? Really. Written in 1948, this poem speaks very well today.
There is a very informative introduction by Adolfo Castañón that eases one into the poetry.
In short, Alfonso Reyes was a brilliant man who spun some very wonderful, powerful words. His breadth and scale is poignant, funny and enjoyable. Octavio Paz was right. If you are learning about Mexican literature, he must not be overlooked.
January 12, 2022
No está mal y reconozco la importancia de Alfonso para la poesía mexicana pero definitivamente su poesía no es una que me guste en absoluto.
January 13, 2026
No sería descabellado manifestar que se trata de un libro raro ab origine: textos que en otras publicaciones del FCE son considerados como prosa o teatro (lo son), se incluyen aquí como poesía... Y aun soslayando el proceso selectivo, su calidad literaria es, no sólo mediocre, sino lamentable. Eso de que la práctica hace al maestro puede no resultar cierto en todo caso, y en Reyes tenemos el ejemplo perfecto. Poemas completamente olvidables y carentes de toda arte poética. Me apena decirlo, pero, tras haber leído una selección variada, es muy probable que la obra completa de Reyes quede destinada al olvido.
October 14, 2025
Espejo de la inteligencia, la poesía de Alfonso Reyes es, a un tiempo, razón y emoción. De temas helénicos, actualiza en lo mejor del español del siglo XX. Regiomontano de cuna paseó su cultura universal por iberoamérica. Sus versos exquisitos son preludio de una prosa luminosa. Docto y emotivo destila melancolía inevitable ante el cruento destino. Encuentra la serenidad en el idioma, fuente perenne de imaginaría.
November 25, 2023
Temáticamente, leer la poesía de Reyes es leer, por una parte, el dolor personal de un hombre que no sólo perdió a su padre en la "decena trágica", sino también anhelaba regresar a su tierra durante su periodo de exilio: la obra escrita en sus primeros años -la de los años 20s- es una poesía que refleja los aspectos mexicanos de una sociedad que salía de la crisis revolucionaria para entrar a la crisis política. Personajes como Reyes y Vasconcelos tendrán una mirada crítica para con el país y, tanto su narrativa como su poesía refleja ese aspecto, sin embargo, hay algo que destaca muchísimo más en Reyes, y es su amor por la cultura: haciendo un sincretismo entre la cultura helénica y la cultura mexicana, Reyes es capaz de poner al personajes homéricos en paisajes mexicanos; es capaz de llorar el paisaje de su tierra natal en las urbes europeas; y es capaz de castellanizar dramas como el de Ifigenia para darle nuevas connotaciones y trasfondo a hechos ya impuestos. Es Alfonso Reyes un maravilla en su poesía de la cual, lamentablemente, organizaron de manera desastrosa en esta colección del Fondo de Cultura, habría sido mejor ordenarla de manera cronológica, pero bueno, no todo se puede.
En cuanto a la estructura, creo que lo más interesante de ver, es la evolución poética que tiene el autor: desde un muy marcado influjo modernista (siguiendo un rigor métrico similar al de sus "maestros" como Lopez Velarde), se va librando de esas ataduras hasta convertir su obra en un canto a verso libre capaz de dar las connotaciones más patéticas que logran asomar una lágrima en cualquier ojo humano.
En cuanto a la estructura, creo que lo más interesante de ver, es la evolución poética que tiene el autor: desde un muy marcado influjo modernista (siguiendo un rigor métrico similar al de sus "maestros" como Lopez Velarde), se va librando de esas ataduras hasta convertir su obra en un canto a verso libre capaz de dar las connotaciones más patéticas que logran asomar una lágrima en cualquier ojo humano.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews