Antonio Machado's Cartas de amor a Pilar de Valerrama/Love Letters to Pilar de Valderrama : A Facing Page Translation from Spanish into English

This annotated bilingual edition of Antonio Machado's letters to Pilar de Valderrama, which includes an informative introduction, offers a unique insight into the poet's personal and artistic life. The letters - intimate, vibrant, and as ungarded as journal entries - range over a wide variety of topics and sparkle with Machado's personality. They reveal his profound love for the woman he worshipped as a goddes and to whom he confided his innermost thoughts. The letters permit a glimpse into Machado's creative process, aethetic principles, and political views. During the nearly ten-year span of their correspondence, Machado shared with Valderrama his opinions about literary gatherings, contemporary authors, and the unrest of pre-Civil War days. While lamenting that his work as a high school French teacher limited the time he could devote to his creative endeavors, he consistently consulted Valderrama about them, even transcribing lengthy excerpts from his plays in progress. This book will appeal not only to the many readers who enjoy Machado's poetry but to everyone who is interested in Spain's early twentieth-century cultural and literary history.

After the sudden death of his young wife in 1912, Antonio Machado felt he had failed. He wrote that the only way to be a true friend, lover, and man was to hear one's name on the lips of a woman. Independent scholar Aldaz explains that Machado may have been convinced of his failure for some time but was eventually reassured by an intense, late-flowering and rather unlikely romantic relationship with Pilar de Valderrama, who was 14 years his junior. Aldaz offers an interesting introduction and set of notes along with an elegant translation, explaining Machado's perceptions about his role in the relationship and the character of a true lover. The result is an intimate view of a poet in love, twice, and in very different ways. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)