Stories and Poems/Cuentos y Poesías A Dual-Language Book

Nicaraguan poet and essayist Rubén Darío (the pen name of Félix Rubén García Sarmiento) is considered the high priest of the modernismo school of literature, known for its dazzling verbal virtuosity and technical perfection. This volume contains a rich selection of Darío's best poems and stories from Azul (Blue), Prosas profanas (Worldly Hymns), Cantos de vida y esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope), El canto errante (The Wandering Song), and Poema del otoño (Poem of Autumn). Accurate English translations appear on the pages facing the original Spanish. Also included is an informative introduction to Darío's life and work and annotations to the individual stories and poems.

Stanley Appelbaum served for decades as Dover's Editor in Chief until his retirement in 1996. He continues to work as a selector, compiler, editor, and translator of literature in a remarkable range of languages that includes Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Russian.

Introduction and Annotations
Cuentos / Stories
(All the stories except the last one are from the collection Azul . . .)
  El Rey Burgués / The Bourgeois King
  El sátiro sordo / The Deaf Satyr
  La ninfa / The Nymph
  El fardo / The Bale
  El velo de la reina Mab / The Veil of Queen Mab
  La canción del oro / The Hymn to Gold
  El pájaro azul / The Blue Bird
  Palomas blancas y garzas morenas / White Doves and Brown Herons
  La muerte de la emperatriz de la China / The Death of the Empress of China
  El caso de la señorita Amelia / The Case of Miss Amelia
Poesís / Poems
From Azul . . . (Blue . . .)
  Caupolicán
  Venus / Venus
  Walt Whitman / Walt Whitman
From Prosas profanas (Worldly Hymns)
  "Era un aire suave . . ." / "The Air Was Gentle . . ."
  Divagación / Digression
  Sonatina / Sonatina
  Blasón / Coat-of-Arms
  "Ite, missa est / Ite, Missa Est"
  Coloquio de los centauros / Dialogue of the Centaurs
  El poeta pregunta por Stella / The Poet Asks About Stella
  Sinfonía en gris mayor / Symphony in Gray Major
  Verlaine: Responso / Verlaine: Response
  El reino interior / The Inner Kingdom
  "Ama tu ritmo . . ." / "Love Your Rhythm . . ."
  Alma mía / My Soul
  "Yo persigo una forma . . ." / "I Pursue a Form . . ."
From Cantos de vida y esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope)
  "Yo goy aquel . . ." / "I Am That Man . . ."
  Salutación del optimista / Greetings from an Optimist
  Al rey Óscar / To King Oscar
  Cyrano en España / Cyrano in Spain
  A Roosevelt / To Roosevelt
  "¡Torres de Dios! . . ." / "Towers of God! . . ."
  Canto de esperanza / Song of Hope
  Marcha triunfal / Triumphal March
  Cisnes I / Swans I
  Cisnes II: En la muerte de Rafel Núñez / Swans II: On the Death of Rafael Núñez
  Cisnes III / Swans III
  Cisnes IV / Swans IV
  "La dulzura del ángelus . . ." / "The Sweetness of the Angelus . . ."
  Tarde del trópico / Evening in the Tropics
  "Nocturno ("Quiero expresar . . .") / Nocturne ("I wish to express . . .")"
  Canción de otoño en primavera / Autumnal Song in Springtime
  Trébol / Cloverleaf
  Leda / Leda
  "Divina Psiquis . . ." / "Divine Psyche . . ."
  A Phocás el campesino / To Phocas the Peasant
  "¡Carne, celeste carne . . .!" / "Flesh, Heavenly Flesh . . .!"
  "En el país de las Alegorías . . ." / "In the Land of Allegories . . ."
  Augurios / Omens
  Melancolía / Melancholy
  "Nocturno ("Los que auscultasteis . . .") / Nocturne ("You who have ausculated . . .")"
  Letanía de nuestro señor don Quijote / Litany of Our Lord Don Quixote
  Lo fatal / Fatality
From El canto errante (The Wandering Song)
  Momotombo / Momotombo
  Salutación al águila / Greetings to the Eagle
  ¡Eheu! / Eheu!
  "Nocturno ("Silencio de la noche . . .") / Nocturne ("Silence of the night . . .")"
  Epístola / Epistle
  Balada en honor de las musas de carne y hueso / Ballade in Honor of the Flesh-and-Blood Muses
From Poema del otoño (Poem of Autumn)
  Poema del otoña / Poem of Autumn
Alphabetical List of Spanish Titles of Poems
Alphabetical List of Spanish First Lines of Poems