The Jacarandas Whisper - by Alberto Ruy-Sánchez (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The Jacarandas Whisper pays homage to the amazing jacaranda trees that transform Mexico City into a purple spectacle heralding the arrival of spring.

Mexican writer Alberto Ruy Sánchez adds yet another "secret garden" to his opus of wonder. The Jacarandas Whisper is carefully structured into six sections of lyrical poems that reflect upon the paradoxical nature of the jacaranda trees, their immortal yet transient character, their origin myths, their multicultural history of migration, and the lessons they offer on the human condition. The book closes with a final "Resounding Coda" that celebrates the jacaranda's power of communication: "She whispers things when silent, / and says even more if you listen."

Review Quotes

"Shifting clouds in heaven's eye, the jacarandas are whispering strokes of calligraphy on the page of desire. In this book, the poet listens to them speak, alone or in unison, watches them dance, pursues their fragrant metamorphoses, hears in their music the memory of migrations, and interprets their messages with lucidity. This is an intimate book that inspires a collective utopia: a yearning transformed into the engagement of a city worthy of its jacarandas. A seminal book for its readers."--Aurelio Asiain

"This book invites us to pause and contemplate the trees, the sky, the wind, the ground and the roots below, and to consider the rhythm of words, our embraces, desire, and the purity of poetry."--Sandra Lorenzano

"This volume describes the jacaranda trees of Mexico City - their beauty, their history, their biological features, and the long list of literary admirers--as a point of departure for meditating on nothing less than the human condition."--Nicolás Medina Mora Pérez

About the Author

Alberto Ruy-Sánchez is an award-winning writer and editor who has authored thirty-two books of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. His works have been translated into fifteen languages. He has received international acclaim for Quinteto de Mogador, a series of five novels that explore the many facets of desire while extending a cultural bridge between his native Mexico and Morocco. His previously translated works in English include The Secret Gardens of Mogador: Voices of the Earth and The Poetics of Wonder.

Rhonda Dahl Buchanan, Professor Emerita of Spanish at the University of Louisville, translations of Ruy Sánchez's novels earned her a 2006 NEA fellowship and were published by White Pine Press. Her other published translations include works by the Argentine authors Mempo Giardinelli, Tununa Mercado, Ana María Shua, and Perla Suez, and the Spanish poet Fernando Operé.