Song of the Figures

Originally published in Peru in 1916, The Song of the Figures, José María Eguren’s second volume of poetry, consolidated his reputation as one of the leading voices of his generation and earned him the unanimous praise of his contemporaries, such as José Carlos Mariátegui, César Vallejo and Abraham Valdelomar. Displaying a penchant for Oriental themes shrouded in mystery and sensuality, The Song of the Figures is an outstanding follow-up to the landmark success of Symbolics (1911), and remains as one of the highlights of Latin American poetry in the 20th century.

This dual language edition, part of the first English translations of Eguren’s works, has carefully intended to preserve both the form and the content of the poems from the original Spanish language. It intends to restitute the figure of one of the most uniquely crafted Latin American voices at the turn of the 20th century, and to open up a window to his timeless past. 

Jose Maria Eguren (Lima 1874-1942) Peruvian poet, painter, essayist and photographer. His unique style marks one of the most interesting transitions between Modernismo and the Avant-garde movements in Latin American poetry, and has remained as an important influence for several generations of poets and writers. His works are widely regarded as classics of Latin American poetry and have been translated to Italian, French, Czech and English.

Jose Garay Boszeta (Lima, 1985) is a writer, translator and language laborer, born and raised in Lima, Peru. He studied programs in Economics and Philosophy at the National University of San Marcos (UNMSM). His work in translation aims to reevaluate Latin American narratives and restore their historical content for English speaking audiences around the world. His current projects include the translation of the works of José María Eguren and Martín Adán, among others. He currently lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Erin and their dogs, Willow and Remy.