The Poetry of Ana Maria Fagundo

Book excerpt: This anthology includes translations of a number of original poems from each of the ten collections of poetry published to date by Spanish poet Ana Maria Fagundo. Its goal is to provide a representative sample of Fagundo's work for an English audience. With the basic tenet of phenomenology as scaffold, the introduction of this anthology elucidates Fagundo's poetic writing as a process whereby the abstract is transformed into a concrete experience through the speaker's own self and body. From Brotes/Buds in 1965 until Trasterrado Marzo/March Beyond in 1999, Fagundo's poetry is an ongoing dialogue with the poetic word. Fagundo's poetic speaker looks into essences, but only in order to reintegrate them into existence. There is no Truth or Beauty or Good out there for which this poet strives, but a truth that each poet articulates in his or her own way. Hers is an aesthetic enterprise, which implies the ethical obligation to affirm life. Candelas Gala is Professor and Chair of the Department of Romance Languages at Wake Forest University.