Sorrow » (1 ED)

Sorrow Claribel Alegria Sorrow is a remarkable collection of love poems which Alegria wrote for her recently deceased husband. The poems are not only a recollection of their past, but also meditations on the meaning of death and the pain of separation as well as reflections on their eventual reunion. Most of the poems are brief piercing lyrics which radiate strength and optimism.

Library Journal

In an appropriate and inspired collaboration, American poet Forch has translated leading Nicaraguan poet Alegr a's latest book of poems, in which she processes the death of her husband, Darwin J. ("Bud") Flakoll--also her translator throughout their marriage. Theirs was clearly a profoundly close relationship. Alegr a and Flakoll lived in various countries, in exile from her beloved Nicaragua, and after the Sandanista revolution spent their remaining years in that country writing and working for social justice. Flakoll died in 1995; Alegria wrote the poems in Sorrow to explore the experience of grief and aloneness that follows the death of a life partner. "I went out searching for you," she writes, " it was all useless/ useless/ you were within me"; "I cease being us/ and am again this I"; "I have to rearrange my time/ until I reach you." Forch 's translations are simple, faithful, and endowed with a special understanding from her years of friendship with Alegr a. This exquisitely tender tribute to a marriage is highly recommended.--Judy Clarence, California State Univ. Lib., Hayward Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\