Many Poems

Roberta Iannamico

Acclaimed Argentinian poet Roberta Iannamico's Many Poems animates the particulars of an imaginary world that lives deeply inside our real one, tapping into poetry's distinctive ability to magically transform daily scenes into purely ecstatic visions. A lonely winter day, the methods of lighting a cigarette, a gentle rain, a naked woman asleep in a field--whether the world of Iannamico's poems is wide awake or asleep (or sometimes both), she softly imbues a dreamlike quality into every line. Masterfully translated by Alexis Almeida, Many Poems is Iannamico's first full-length book to be published in English.

'Reading these “many poems” feels like coming across a vibrant patch of wildflowers unexpectedly. I’m reminded of the fact that once collections of poems were called “florilegios” in Spanish—tenderly picked flowers, that is. I’m won over by their openness and seemingly effortless charm, uplifted by their spirit, appearing in another of Iannonico’s poems thus: “I love life / the moments of life / the everyday ones / even if you barely notice them / the magic ones / the sunny ones / the chatting  / the music / the weather….” Almeida’s versions re-perform the poems’ magic, and that too is something to love.' – Mónica de la Torre