I've yet to go into Octavio Paz.

Adventure full of pleasures quotes James Blonde.

egh, octavio paz is full of shit except for sunstone (piedra del sol)
either neruda or garcia lorca are far far beyond paz's rethorical flourishes, silly theories, and accomodation politics.

Neruda wasn't into politics asks James Blonde?

Good Point. Unmentionable?

of course he was, he was a fucking stalinist for fucks sakes. his own shortcoming. but at least he stood for something.

garcia lorca was also a republican and that's why he got shot (also perhaps for being a flaming queen, which made the fascists, im sure, quite nervous).

paz's theory that poets just deal with myth & should remain uninvolved with history however is crap. and so was most of his poetry. he can eat shit (well he's dead anyway).

Your point well taken, admits James Blonde. Sometimes pure art is worth to read also.

I believe poetry should consists of history happening at the time the poetry is written.

James Blonde believes poetry should be written how the poet wants, there can't be any restrictions, it's up to readers whether to like it or not.

Point taken.

well, "pure art" is a bit of a fallacy, is my point-- a fallacy that paz himself constructed.

piedra del sol however IS a magnificent poem; the rest of his work however leaves me meh. piedra del sol can be found here in spanish: http://amediavoz.com/paz.htm#PIEDRA%20DE%20SOL
the bilingual edition is here:
http://www.amazon.com/Sunstone-Piedr.../dp/0811211959
i have that edition actually, and the translation is adequate.

a better mexican poet that few people know however is jose gorostiza, "muerte sin fin" (maybe translatable as "death without end" ) is fucking mindblowing. again i don't know how it would translate into other languages, those verses inspired in the baroque... but for those who read spanish, jump in & tremble... http://omega.ilce.edu.mx:3000/sites/...htm/sec_5.html

oh on this i should add-- paz himself wrote treatises/theories on poetics, hence he opened himself to criticism in this regard, especially when he denied other poets (via his theories) the freedom to write how they wished to write.

How about antipoetry by Nicanor Parra? I really dig his writting and his collages! a pure anarchist!

hot damn i love nicanor parra!

the only problem i have is that his schtick wears out eventually-- for me anyway-- kinda like, hm, punk rock, you know what i mean?

now i think you're chilean no?

then vicente huidobro is where it's at-- genius of the avant garde-- altazor = masterpiece. and his prose books etc-- mind blowing.

im looking for it online but no luck yet--
however, you poetaster friends (we're all poetasters here, ha ha), should all read it. potentially life-altering.