Latin Americans have written some of the world's finest poetry in the twentieth century, as the Nobel Prizes awarded to Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda, and Octavio Paz attest. Yet this rich literary production has never been gathered into a single volume that attempts to represent the full range and the most important writers-until now. Here, under one cover, are the major poets and their major works, which appear both in the original language and in excellent English translations.

The poems selected include the most famous representative poems of each poetic tradition, accompanied by other poems that represent the best of that tradition and of each poet's work within it. Tapscott's selections cover the full range, from the Modernist generation though the Mexican Revolutionary post-Moderns and the Vanguardist poets to very contemporary younger writers of political and experimental commitments. In all, eighty-five poets, including Pablo Neruda, Nicanor Parra, Octavio Paz, Gabriela Mistral, Nicolás Guillén, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortazar, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Carlos Pellicer, César Vallejo, and Cecília Meireles, and over 400 poems are included, often in translations by some of North America's most esteemed poets.

Reader Reviews

Gaiasunshine

(4/5)

Jul 18, 2025

Large selection of different poet's from 20th cent. Some poet's I liked better than others.

Bender

(5/5)

Possimus minus quidem aperiam at odio et alias. Ut fugiat et tempore velit. Est et fugit inventore quis. Quisquam sed aut.

Herbie Clark

Love ❤️!!!

Elena

This book has the most accurate translations I've encountered. A must have for poetry lovers!

Elisabeth

Just started; too early to tell

J.M. Hushour

A satisfying collection of modern poetry from the Latino world, perfectly edited with well-chosen examples and good little biographical entries. Luckily the avant-garde stuff is not overlooked, which is usually the case in area anthologies, the traditional and folky crap getting first-tier, and constitutes the most interesting part of the collection. Some of the later, political polemic selections get a little tired with their constant lyrical invocations of Marx, Lenin, and what-have-you, but t...

Brandy

I found this book at one of the Texas Printing Press sales for a couple of bucks back in 1999 and loaned it to someone and thought it was lost forever. Now I have it again. I love picking up this book and the different poetry from latin america. It brings the same problems and yearnings that I have for " Homesick for Death"- This introduced me to Pablo Neruda and to Villarrutia and other great poets/ writers... Definately worth having.

Lisa Folkmire

An excellent collection with backgrounds on each poet.

H. Hall

Edited by Stephen Tapscott, this is quite possibly the very best overall survey of twentieth century poetry available from all over Latin America. The book has both the Spanish and what Tapscott considers the best available English translation en face. Beginning with Jose Marti and extending through Marjorie Agosin, this book belongs on the shelves of anyone interested in twentieth century Latin American poetry.

Nancy

there's a mine of knowledge and unbelievable poetry in this book...it has english-portuguese-spanish translations for the linguistically challenged. definitely a book worth having in your library.~ la poesia es como el pan, para todos. poetry is like bread, for everyone. ~(Roque Dalton)

Jack Syron

A stellar collection of Latin American poets, writers, scholars, revolutionaries and believers. My favorite college course was Latin American history so I've always had a true curiosity of the countries and it's people's true history. Even though I can't bike around the continent any time soon, this does make it feel closer to home

Alliephillie

An awesome primer with a little bit of every contemporary poet I could think or not think of, organized sort of like a Greatest Hits album. Side-by-side translations which is great way to brush up on Spanish and sound sexy doing it. Also admire that many of the translations are done by great writers in their own right (John Updike, William Carlos Williams, Elizabeth Bishop) with a detailed introduction about each poet. I learned a lot about Vallejo and Neruda's affection for each other and was i...

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Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology

Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology

Twentieth-Century Latin American Poetry: A Bilingual Anthology

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Reader Reviews