Beautiful poetry and translation. I don't speak Spanish so I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the translation but I appreciated the notes at the end that explained context, cultural quirks exhibited and references.

Gil de Biedma lived during a fascist regime and had to hide several aspect of his character. He was queer and died of AIDS with a lot of his poetry unpublished. The poet himself did not want his poetry read through a purely queer lens, though how much of this is influenced by living under Franco in post civil war Spain is unclear to me. James Nolan does a good job explaining the limitations when translating from one language to another and how certain creative choices have to be made based on knowledge of the author, the culture and society. Nolan spends the end notes to add context where it may be lost to those of us who do not speak Spanish or have little familiarity with the epoch.

I very much liked this poetry collection but what draws it down from being a full score for me is that I wish the poetry were in their entirety in Spanish and English instead of parallel in a way that cut off the rhythm when reading. This is purely up to preference but for me I would have rather had the entire poem continuously rather than dissected by a new page of Spanish and English alternating.

"don't you see how everything you and I
once dreamed is overwhelmed by what is?"

Beautiful and haunting collection.

Wow! This is poetry that resonance with me. It's beautiful. This is a needed book in my shelf. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

Jaime Gil de Biedma is a poet that did not just survive Franco in the era post Spanish Civil War, he is also a man who brings the experience of living his life as a member of the queer community. In the end, he passed away of AIDS, but he leaves behind a collection of poems that bring a yearning earnestness that both warmed my heart and made it ache.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an eARC.

Beautifully done. I am so glad I got an opportunity to read this.

Absolutely gorgeous poetry that's full of longing, and also a gay poet who managed to survive post Spanish Civil War era Franco, but ultimately died of AIDS. Great collection.

i am not the target audience for this but i can see how his work is impactful and important. i love that the translations are side by side and i’m happy there was a foreword that gave me insight into his life.