“Árbol de agua / Tree of Water” by Xánath Caraza

“Árbol de agua / Tree of Water” by Xánath Caraza

 

Art by Israel Nazario

Culebra roja deslizándose hasta mí

Silueta entre la bruma matutina

Sombras moradas la protegen de la luz

Árbol solitario, deshojado

 

Tras de ti están los cráteres rojos

Ojos de culebra que miran

Desde lejos, bajo el agua

Al acecho de una víctima más

 

Aliento de culebra roja

Se desliza entre las olas

Entre el líquido embriagante, trampa de mortal

Ojos que desde el árbol de agua miran

 

 

Arte de Israel Nazario

Tree of Water

 

Red snake slithering toward me

Silhouette in the morning mist

Purple shadows protect it from the light

Lonely tree, leafless

 

Behind you the red craters are

Snake eyes that watch

Under water from afar

Threatening one more victim

 

Breath of red snake

Slithering along the waves

Between the intoxicating liquid, mortal trap

From the tree of water, its eyes watch

 

 

“Árbol de agua /Tree of Water” are part of the collection Corazón de pintado by Xánath Caraza (Pandora lobo estepario productions, 2015)

 

Xanath Caraza

Art by Israel Nazario and cover art by José Jesús Chán Guzmán.

 

Xanath Caraza

“Niebla verde / Green Fog” by Xánath Caraza

“Niebla verde / Green Fog” by Xánath Caraza

 

"Madre" by Juan Chawuk

 

Hombres de humo

de eternidad azul

de pensamientos fragmentados

 

Hombres que ya no sienten a la mujer susurrante

a la mujer de cuerpo celeste

a la mujer de constelaciones dulces

a la mujer que estimula la imaginación

 

En el corazón de las ciudades divididas

de las ciudades sin playa

de las ciudades sin nombre

llega la niebla verde

 

como olas gigantes

como el Saturno de Goya que devora

como el aliento de la serpiente

que da entrada a los hombres de humo

 

Fuerza arrasadora que bloquea

fuerza que no deja fluir los sentimientos

que no deja crecer las almas

de líderes de corazones puros

 

¿Dónde están los recuerdos de la espuma?

¿Dónde están los barullos de la calle?

¿Dónde están las manos salvajes creadoras?

¿Dónde están los pensamientos eternos?

¿Dónde están?

 

Xanath Caraza

Green Fog

 

by Xánath Caraza

 

Men of smoke

of blue eternity

of thoughts fragmented

 

Men who don’t feel the whispering woman anymore

the woman of celestial body

the woman of sweet constellations

the woman who stimulates imagination

 

In the heart of the divided cities

of the cities without a shore

of the cities without a name

green fog arrives

 

as giant waves

as Goya’s Saturn that devours

as the breath of the serpent

that lets the men of smoke come in

 

Crushing power that blocks

power that doesn’t allow feelings to flow

that doesn’t allow souls to grow

the souls of leaders with pure hearts

 

Where are the memories of the foam?

Where are the sounds of the street?

Where are the wild creative hands?

Where are the eternal thoughts?

Where are they?

 

 

“Niebla verde / Green Fog” is part of the collection Corazón de pintado by Xánath Caraza (Pandora lobo estepario productions, 2015)

 

Xanath Caraza

Art, “Madre”, by Juan Chawuk.

 

Cover art, Corazón pintado, by José Jesús Chán Guzmán. 

“Matilde en la hamaca” by Xánath Caraza

“Matilde en la hamaca” by Xánath Caraza

 

Matilde en la hamaca: imagen de Israel Nazario

Matilde en la hamaca

 

Para Matilde en la hamaca de Israel Nazario

 

Ahí estaba

con su vestido amarillo

y el pelo abierto a la aventura.

Su mirada perdida entre el mar y un recuerdo.

Volar, volar, volar con las aves pasajeras.

 

El árbol la miraba calladamente

cuando se mecía en la hamaca,

la escuchaba suspirar,

leía sus pensamientos.

 

Distinguía su vestido amarillo,

su cabello flotando en el aire.

Temblaba el árbol al pronunciar su nombre.

Una discreta hoja se escapó hasta ella

con la ayuda del viento tocó su cabellera.

 

 

Matilde en la hamaca de Israel Nazario

Matilde in the Hammock

 

After Matilde en la hamaca by Israel Nazario

                   

There she was

in her yellow dress

and her hair open to adventure.

Her gaze lost between the sea and a memory.

Fly, fly, fly with the seasonal birds.

 

Quietly, the tree stared at her

while she rocked in the hammock,

it heard her breathe,

it read her thoughts.

 

It was able to see her yellow dress,

her hair floating in the air.

The tree trembled when pronouncing her name.

A discrete leaf escaped its way unto her

with the help of the wind. It touched her tuft of hair.

 

Xanath Caraza

Parts of Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems were written with the support from the Beca Nebrija para Creadores 2014 award from the Instituto Franklin in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.

 

Image by Israel Nazario, Matilde en la hamaca.

 

Cover art by Jesús Chán Guzmán

 

Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems (Pandora Lobo Estepario Press, 2015) by Xánath Caraza.

Xanath Caraza

“Niebla verde / Green Fog” by Xánath Caraza

“Niebla verde / Green Fog” by Xánath Caraza

 

"Madre" by Juan Chawuk

 

Hombres de humo

de eternidad azul

de pensamientos fragmentados

 

Hombres que ya no sienten a la mujer susurrante

a la mujer de cuerpo celeste

a la mujer de constelaciones dulces

a la mujer que estimula la imaginación

 

En el corazón de las ciudades divididas

de las ciudades sin playa

de las ciudades sin nombre

llega la niebla verde

 

como olas gigantes

como el Saturno de Goya que devora

como el aliento de la serpiente

que da entrada a los hombres de humo

 

Fuerza arrasadora que bloquea

fuerza que no deja fluir los sentimientos

que no deja crecer las almas

de líderes de corazones puros

 

¿Dónde están los recuerdos de la espuma?

¿Dónde están los barullos de la calle?

¿Dónde están las manos salvajes creadoras?

¿Dónde están los pensamientos eternos?

¿Dónde están?

 

 

Xanath Caraza

Green Fog

 

by Xánath Caraza

 

Men of smoke

of blue eternity

of thoughts fragmented

 

Men who don’t feel the whispering woman anymore

the woman of celestial body

the woman of sweet constellations

the woman who stimulates imagination

 

In the heart of the divided cities

of the cities without a shore

of the cities without a name

green fog arrives

 

as giant waves

as Goya’s Saturn that devours

as the breath of the serpent

that lets the men of smoke come in

 

Crushing power that blocks

power that doesn’t allow feelings to flow

that doesn’t allow souls to grow

the souls of leaders with pure hearts

 

Where are the memories of the foam?

Where are the sounds of the street?

Where are the wild creative hands?

Where are the eternal thoughts?

Where are they?

 

 

“Niebla verde / Green Fog” is part of the collection Corazón de pintado by Xánath Caraza (Pandora lobo estepario productions, 2015)

 

Art by Juan Chawuk and cover art by José Jesús Chán Guzmán

_Corazón pintado_ por Xánath Caraza

 _Corazón pintado_ por Xánath Caraza

 

El día de hoy comparto un par de poemas de mi libro Corazón pintado (2012) para celebrar el 14 de febrero, el día de la amistad. Las imágenes son de Jesús Chán, Israel Nazario y Adriana Manuela. Las traducciones de los poemas son de Sandra Kingery y de la que escribe. Que la poesía nos salve.

 

Matilde en la hamaca

 

Ahí estaba

con su vestido amarillo

y el pelo abierto a la aventura

su mirada perdida entre el mar y un recuerdo:

volar, volar, volar con las aves pasajeras

 

Calladamente el árbol la miraba

cuando se mecía en la hamaca

la escuchaba suspirar

leía sus pensamientos

 

Distinguía su vestido amarillo

su cabello flotando en el aire

temblaba el árbol al pronunciar su nombre

una discreta hoja se escapó hasta ella

con la ayuda del viento tocó su cabellera

 

 

"Matilde en la hamaca" por Israel Nazario

 

Matilde in the Hammock

                      

There she was

in her yellow dress

and her hair open to adventure

her gaze lost between the sea and a memory:

fly, fly, fly with the seasonal birds

 

Quietly, the tree stared at her

while she rocked in the hammock

it heard her breathe

it read her thoughts

 

It was able to see her yellow dress

her hair floating in the air

the tree trembled when pronouncing her name

a discrete leaf escaped its way unto her

with the help of the wind, it touched her tuft of hair.

 

 

Naturaleza

 

La que se mueve fuerte

produce flores rojas embriagantes

y los poemas más sensuales

 

Está lastimada

sangran sus cañones

sus montañas se desgarran

 

Su corazón rojo profundo tiembla

vibra su centro enardecido

las casas caen

 

Granizadas de plata

cubren los verdes campos

con la ira azul de ehécatl

 

 

"Naturaleza" por Adriana Manuela

Mother Nature

 

Stirring strongly she

produces intoxicating red flowers

and the most sensual poems

 

She is wounded

her canyons bleed

her mountains are torn

 

Her dark red heart trembles

her inflamed center vibrates

houses fall

 

Silver hailstorms

cover green fields

ehécatl’s blue rage

 

 

 

 

Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems, 2015

Xánath Caraza

“Caraza’s voice is the pulse of the powerful, mythic earth. Landscape and dreamscape fuse in this rhythmic poetry, as the images Caraza paints and repaints for us—mountains, shells, twisters, deserts—go on “rocking the imagination” through time, history, memory, and that wildest frontier: the heart.”

—Maria Melendez, author of Flexible Bones and How Long She’ll Last in This World.

 

Corazón Pintado (Pandora lobo estepario Press, 2015) by Xánath Caraza

 

Pandora lobo estepario Press, Chicago, IL, has decided to publish the second edition of my chapbook, Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems (2015).  This second edition is revised, augmented, and has a foreword by Nuno Júdice.  I have also added a few more poems and paintings.  The chapbook is a bilingual edition; most of the translations are by me in addition to Sandra Kingery and Stephen Holland-Wempe.  I am certainly thankful for this wonderful opportunity. 

The first edition of Corazón Pintado (2012) was published by TL Press, Kansas City, MO to which I am absolutely thankful since was the first time I was able to see my work in the form of a book.
 

Parts of the second edition of Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems were written with the support from the Beca Nebrija para Creadores 2014 award from the Instituto Franklin in Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.

The artists I have had the honor to work with for Corazon Pintado are the following:

 

Adriana Manuela

Adriana Manuela is a painter and ceramist originally from Mexico. She has participated in individual shows in Mexico and Spain. Currently, she lives in Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain.  Adriana Manuela is working on a new series of ceramics titled: Yolotl.

 

José Jesús Chán Guzmán, AKA Chán

Chán has participated in international collective shows in Mexico, the US, England, France, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Canada.  Chan graduated from the School of Fine Arts, University of Veracruz, in Xalapa, Mexico. In 1992 he received the Ramón Alva de la Canal Award, among others. Currently, he lives in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico with his wife and two dogs.

 

Israel Nazario

Israel Nazario is originally from Santa María Zacatepec, Putla, Oaxaca. He graduated from the School of Fine Arts, UABJO, in the City of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. His work has been displayed in several collective and individual shows in Mexico, Japan, and Brazil. Currently, he lives in the City of Oaxaca where he teaches, and paints.

 

Thomas Weso

Thomas Weso is an educator and artist. His vivid paintings based on Woodlands motifs are in collections in Washington DC as well as the Midwest, and he has participated in solo and group shows in Kansas and Missouri. Tom is an enrolled member of the Menominee Indian Nation of Wisconsin. He teaches Native American Studies classes at Friends University. He has published personal essays and articles. He received his M.A. in Indigenous Nations Studies from the University of Kansas.

 

I hope you all enjoy the new edition of my book.  We are still working on a release date, but, please, stay tuned.

 

“Xánath Caraza creates poignant visually inspired narratives.  Her ekphrastic poems evoke “eternal wisdom” gained through stories of past generations.”

—Silvia Kofler, editor of Thorny Locust and author of Radioactive Musings.

 

“In her bilingual chapbook, Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems, traveler, educator, poet and short story writer Xánath Caraza conjures up a collection of ekphrastic poems that summon both the indigenous and African roots of Mexico and take the reader through a trip of visual and rhythmic narratives that descend “into the heart of things”.”

—Lauro Vazquez

 

“Water and waves flow through the book, and drag nurturing, cleansing throughout the pages. They are drenched with both death and freedom. A tree standing alone, barren, settled in sadness contrasts images of the sea. All of it pointing in both directions, the past and the future. See the vibrancy, colors smeared across the palate, staining magic, birth, struggle, reality, and dream. Look into the blush, the tint of the painted heart.”

—Lonita Cook, writer for the Examiner

 

“Xánath Caraza has the gift of transforming a story into a poem, even when it has the lyrical melding of a metaphorical touch or a melody.  Further, this is what allows us to listen, in each poem, to that voice which shares and transmits worldly and enduring knowledge.”

            —Nuno Júdice, Lisbon, Portugal
 

For preordering Corazón Pintado: Ekphrastic Poems (2015) go to: Chicago Art Market

 

Corazón Pintado (Pandora lobo estepario Press, 2015) by Xánath Caraza