Tag Archives: blogs

01/31/23

Week 4: Neruda and Twenty Love Poems and A Song of Despair

I won’t lie. A lot of poetry I have read in the past didn’t particularly catch my attention. Perhaps I didn’t always pay close attention to the intricacies of literary devices used throughout. I always much preferred a ‘typical’ novel that was easy to read–to interpret. But, there is so much beauty in poetry that I didn’t give enough credit or recognition to. That is, up until now after reading Pablo Neruda’s Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.” 

Neruda has such a way with the usage of devices like metaphors, personification, hyperboles, and especially imagery to display the ways in which he feels love–and just how outward that love pours out to the one he is infatuated with. His emotions are spread across each page that show how deep those feelings run. One thing that caught my eye, in particular, is how Neruda expressed how he views his love. For example, in Chapter 2 titled “The Light Wraps You”, Neruda says: 

“Twilight falling in your eyes, toy doll,

Earth-shell, in whom the earth sings”

This was a beautiful line to me. Lines like this and “Abstracted pale mourner, standing that way against the old propellors of twilight that revolves around you”, (12) also from Chapter 2, shows how Neruda centers this woman he is in love with as if she is the centre, not only of his mind but also his world. I thought it was such a pretty way of showing how in love somebody is with someone else. Yet, lines like “I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too” and “To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her” (61-62) shows the feelings one might feel after the light of a love ran out, or the overall negative feelings that follow a lost love: despair, guilt, anger, sadness, regret. All around, Neruda was effective in showing his connection to his lover while also highlighting the struggles of being in love. It makes the reader feel compassionate toward him, or even empathetic, because perhaps one can relate to him in the way he describes relationships and the pain that may come with it. 

At first, I was more confused with exactly what he was trying to convey, but the longer I read on, it all made sense, and I began finding myself relating to Neruda’s feelings over time. Although it was published in 1924, his words are timeless and allow for contemplation and reflection upon ones own relationships. 

My question for you is: Did Neruda bring about any particular feelings about love for you? Maybe he even changed your perspective on it? Were you able to relate to what he wrote?

01/23/23

Week 2: Campobello and “Cartucho”

Reading Campobello’s Cartuco was an intriguing, thought-provoking, and unique experience for me this past week. As an IR major whose focus area of study is Latin America, I was quite excited to delve into a book pertaining to the Mexican Revolution. I quite enjoyed Campobello’s writing style, as it was quite descriptive and provided effective imagery and tone-setting to help emphasize the individual circumstances of each short story she wrote. Although this style of writing was new for me, and it was a bit confusing to remember all the characters in each individual story in the beginning, I really enjoyed it for its raw and honest nature: it showed the true struggle of the everyday person who lived through the Mexican Revolution and its aftermath. 

Like some other students have mentioned, I also found myself believing that Campobello was trying to introduce each ‘character’ in the novel, but I soon realized that short accounts were her way of telling her story. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Campobello to experience and see all she has through the eyes of a child, and she did not shy away from being clear in her intent to display the true violence and fervor it provided. To be able to account for something like that from beginning to end is bound to be exhausting to recount–I am impressed with her effort to provide so many memories that encompass seven years time of the Revolution in just under 100 pages. Particularly, the story that caught my memory most was the story about Catarino Acosta–the man who “lasted eight days lying in the road”–and where the crows were already eating away at him (28). It was disturbing, real, and traumatizing. The ending of that story: “They executed Catarino without bullets” was a powerful way to end the story because it shows a violent death that was filled with suffering, and shows the reality of many during the Revolution. During the lecture, it is mentioned that together, both the reader and the narrator have to make sense of or respond to a situation that is not of their own making; we see this not only continually via Campobello’s storytelling, but also through my own experience and reactions to her stories as a reader. I sometimes felt uncomfortable reading the stories due to how violent they were because I continually thought of the pain that must have been felt by many–a pain that was sometimes necessary toward change in a country with vulnerable, unpredictable, and vast circumstances. I think this form of storytelling to capture memories was impactful and it shows why this book was so prominent in literature. 

 

A question for you!: Did any part of the book make you “uncomfortable”? How do you think Campobello was feeling during this time?

01/17/23

Week #1: Introduction

Hi everyone!

My name is Ashley and I am in my 4th year studying International Relations and Sociology. I am 23 years old and from Langley, BC. Something fun about me is that I grew up on a beef cattle farm for almost all my life, and I got to show them at local fairs like the PNE (think dog show..but replace them with cows:))–I also lived on a dairy farm and had a pig named Peaches. In my spare time, I like finding a good hot chocolate, taking the ferry to the Island for an adventure with my friends, or finding new music to update my playlists. I also love finding a good TV show (my current favs are Yellowstone and The Last of Us!).  I am really excited to jump into the content of this course and get to know everyone throughout the duration of this term!

I chose to register for this course because I chose Spanish as my language requirement for my IR degree, and I loved it so much that I wanted to continue with it somehow. So, I figured taking a SPAN course for my lit requirement would be an excellent route to take! Although I am not super well-versed in literature, I am more than eager to get started and delve into the many books we have the chance to read this semester so that I can have a more balanced and thoughtful perception of these texts and how they have contributed to the LATAM region. Though, I have taken a few Latin American-centered political science, Latin Amerian studies, and sociology courses that crossover with many of the themes we are said to explore this semester, including war, class, globalization, representation, and revolution; so, I am very excited to explore these themes in more depth and within a different lens.

At first, I was a bit confused on exactly what hopscotch was in the case of this class, but the introductory lecture helped me understand that, and provided me with the tools I need to look at the literature we will be exploring in a different lens and to get rid of any assumptions I may have had prior. I think the selection of texts we have will show a great variety (but also commonalities, as mentioned in lecture) in the shared and unshared values and within Latin American cultures and identities. I usually love reading political biographies or historiographies, but I am excited to get the chance to explore other genres, too! I am super excited to read I, Rigoberta Menchu because I got to go to Guatemala in 2019 and learn about the K’iche’ language and culture, and would love to learn more. I think I have read an excerpt from that book, but quite honestly it was 6 years ago so I will be ready for a good refresher on that one:) I found the discussion on magical realism most interesting from the lecture, and am curious to learn of how we can begin to deconstruct such themes and analyze a variety of interpretations and narratives within each.

Question: Have you ever had the chance to go to a country in the Latin American region? Another question: Where is your favourite place to read? Mine is at a cafe or at a park with a river view:)

See you around, everyone! Super excited for this course!