About the Book
Poetry. Latinx Studies. Women's Studies. Translated by Terry Ehret, John Johnson, and Nancy J. Morales. Bilingual Spanish Edition. Poet, essayist, and translator Ulalume González de León believed that Everything has already been said, and, thus, that each act of creation is a rewriting, reshuffling, and reconstructing of one great work. For this reason, she chose the title Plagios (Plagiarisms) for her book of collected poems. Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz called Ulalume González de León the best Mexicana poet since Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, recognizing the visionary quality of her work. This first of three bilingual volumes presents several short collections of poems González de León produced from 1968 to 1971, each of which explores the ephemeral nature of identity and its dependence on the ever-shifting ground of language and memory.
About the Author :
Ulalume González de León (1928-2009) is the author of PLAGIOS/PLAGIARISMS, VOLUME ONE (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2020), translated by Terry Ehret, John Johnson, and Nancy J. Morales-- the first full-length English translation of her work. Ulalume González de León was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, the daughter of two poets, Roberto Ibañez and Sara de Ibañez. She studied literature and philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Mexico. While living in Mexico in 1948, Ulalume became a naturalized Mexican citizen. She married painter and architect Teodoro González de León, and together they had three children. She published essays, stories, and poems, and worked with Nobel Laureate Octavio Paz as an editor of two literary journals, Plural and Vuelta. She also translated the work of H.D., Elizabeth Bishop, Ted Hughes, Lewis Carroll, and e.e. cummings. In the 1970's, González de León was part of a generation of Latin American women writers challenging the traditional definitions of women, marriage, and relationships. Her poetry earned her many awards, including the Xavier Villaurrutia Prize, the Flower of Laura Poetry Prize in 1979 and Alfonso X Prize. Octavio Paz called Ulalume Gonzá lez de León the best Mexicana poet since Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, recognizing the visionary quality of her work. Ulalume González de León died in 2009 of complications of Alzheimer's. Terry Ehret is a co-translator, with John Johnson and Nancy J. Morales, of Ulalume González de León's PLAGIOS/PLAGIARISMS, VOLUME ONE (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2020). She has published four collections of poetry, including LUCKY BREAK (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2008), TRANSLATIONS OF THE HUMAN LANGUAGE (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2001), LOST BODY (Copper Canyon Press, 1993), and Night Sky Journey (Kelly's Cove Press). Literary awards include the National Poetry Series, California Book Award, Pablo Neruda Poetry Prize, Northern California Book Reviewer's Award nomination, and an NEA Translation Fellowship. From 2004-2006, she served as the poet laureate of Sonoma County, where she lives and teaches writing. John Johnson is a co-translator, with Terry Ehret and Nancy J. Morales, of Ulalume González de León's PLAGIOS/PLAGIARISMS, VOLUME ONE (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2020). John Johnson's poetry has appeared in Boxcar Poetry Review, Clade Song, Triggerfish Critical Review, and Web Conjunctions. He is a long-time student of the Spanish language and has studied letter-press printing with Iota Press of Sebastopol, producing chapbooks and bilingual broadsides. Nancy J. Morales is a co-translator, with John Johnson and Terry Ehret, of Ulalume González de León's PLAGIOS/PLAGIARISMS, VOLUME ONE (Sixteen Rivers Press, 2020). Nancy J. Morales earned her bachelor's degree from Rutgers College, a Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language from Adelphi University, and a doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University. She has taught at Dominican University, College of Marin, and Sonoma State University. Currently she is a board member for the Northern California Chapter of the Fulbright Alumni Association, and teaches Spanish to private clients.
