The Ofi Press Magazine
International Poetry and Literature from Mexico City
Candidates for Sainthood and other Sinners/ Aprendices de santo y otros pecadores.
Don Cellini (USA)cand Fer de la Cruz (Mexico)
Published in issue 32 of The Ofi Press.
This collection of poems explores the thin line between saint and sinner. The poet asks the reader to consider, “Who is the saint here? Who is the sinner?” A few well-known people appear in poems as well as a few genuine saints, but mostly the poems explore the saints and sinners and everyday folks that we meet each day on the sidewalk, at work, the mall or on TV.
The author collaborated with Mexican poet Fernando de la Cruz in recasting the poems in Spanish. With Cellini’s originals in English and in Spanish, de la Cruz created a third version. Sometimes these are faithful translations, but often they soar off the page and take on an identity of their own.
The poems are lean but, with a few pen strokes, Cellini creates sketches which suggest more than he writes. Impressions. Moments in time. Bits of humor. And de la Cruz has captured these same images in exquisite Spanish originals. The work as a whole, then, is a collaboration which will please readers of English, readers of Spanish, and bilingual readers will have a double delight.
It was chilly and I woke before/ Había abierto los ojos con frío, antes de que
| It was chilly and I woke before the alarm clock. One dog sensed it and came to lie on my stomach so I could scratch his head behind his ears. The other stretched out full length and pressed herself tight against me under the covers. You snored comfortably beside me. I wanted to turn off the alarm knowing that the day couldn’t get any better than this. | Había abierto los ojos con el frío, antes de que sonara el despertador. Al percibirlo uno de los perros vino a echarse a mi estómago para que le rascara detrás de las orejas. Por su parte, la perra se estiró a todo lo largo de sí misma, y se echó junto a mí bajo las mantas. Tú roncabas de lo más plácidamente. Quise apagar la alarma al darme cuenta de que el día no sería mejor que este momento. |
When he was in his 80's/ Cuando él ya había cumplido
| When he was in his 80’s, my father gave me an overcoat for my birthday. What a strange present, I thought. Worn along the cuffs, missing a button, exactly like his own. When he left, he took it with him, a few coins | Cuando él ya había cumplido ochenta y tantos, mi padre me obsequió en, mi cumpleaños un abrigo. Qué regalo tan extraño, pensé, con las empuñaduras desgastadas y un botón extraviado exactamente como el que él llevaba. Al irse, lo volvió a tomar consigo, con algunas monedas en el bolsillo. |
He's singing again tonight/ Canta otra vez esta niche
He’s singing again tonight from his favorite bus-stop bench. To those who pause or await a bus, he invites requests and offers – gift wrapped in brown paper – a swig from his bottle. Some nights it’s melancholy songs with a country twang, others sad, broken love songs. Tonight he sings old hymns in Latin. Nights when he doesn’t sing he just wipes his nose on his sleeve. | Canta otra vez esta noche en su asiento favorito en la parada de autobús. Tiene regalos envueltos en bolsas de papel: una probada franca de su botella o complacencias que les ofrece a los peatones o a los que esperan con él. Unas noches, la melancolía invade con esa voz chillona de las canciones country. Otras veces, canciones románticas, entrecortadas. Hoy les toca su turno a los antiguos himnos en latín. Las noches que descansa, con la manga se limpia la nariz. |
In the hush after truth/ En medio del silencio, después de la verdad
In the hush after truth the poet wrote: stone is older than word but younger than fire. Wrote: there are only five words for truth: silver firefly laughter mountain salt. Wrote: silence is the perfect | En medio del silencio después de la verdad, el poeta escribió: más antigua es la piedra que la palabra pero más joven que el fuego. Escribió: sólo son cinco palabras que designan verdad: plata luciérnaga risa montaña sal. Escribió: el silencio es el poema perfecto. |
About the Poets
Fernando de la Cruz Herrera (Yucatán, México, 1971) holds an MA in Spanish from Ohio University and a BA in Philosophy. As an independent editor, writer, and cultural promoter, he has participated in cultural festivals, conferences, and book fairs in Mexico, Cuba, France, and the United States. His books include Redentora la voz (Ayuntamiento de Mérida, 2010), Aliteletras. De la a a la que quiera (Dante, 2011), Sabotaje a la che y otros poemas de martitologio (forthcoming from Instituto de Cultura de Yucatán) and the chapbook Seven Songs of Silent, Singing Fireflies (JKPublishing, 2008). He has received two national, one regional, and one state-wide poetry awards in Mexico. His main passions are poetry (which he often finds in theatre, music, film…), language teaching made fun, and the constant discovery of the flavors, shapes, and depths of human life / delacrux@hotmail.com.
Fer has won 1st prize in the Premio Regional de Poesia Jose Diaz Bolio, 2011, sponsored by Patronato Pro Historia Peninsular, $10,000 pesos, his second time. The first was in 2003 and 2nd place in the Premio Estatal de Literatura Infantil Elvia Rodriguez Cirerol, 2011, sponsored by Instituto de Cultura de Yucatan, $5,000 pesos.
Don Cellini is a poet, translator and photographer. He is the author of Approximations/ Aproximaciones (2005) and Inkblots (2008) both collections of bilingual poems published by March Street Press. His book of prose poems, Translate into English was released in 2010 by Mayapple Press. He has published translations of three Mexican poets: Elías Nandino: Selected Poems (2010 McFarland Publishers); Imagenes para una anunciación / Images for an annunciation, the work of poet Roxana Elvridge-Thomas (FootHills Press, 2012), and Desire I remember but love, no / No recuerdo el amor sino el deseo, by Sergio Téllez Pon (2013 by Floricanto Press). He is a recipient of fellowships from the King Juan Carlos Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is professor emeritus at Adrian College in Michigan. View more of his work at: www.doncellini.com .