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The Roof of the Whale Poems
Juan Calzadilla
Translated by Katherine M. Hedeen and Olivia Lott
Wisconsin Poetry Series
Sean Bishop and Jesse Lee Kercheval, Series Editors
Ronald Wallace, Founding Series Editor
Winner of the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation, selected by Forrest Gander
“Calzadilla addressed his poems to a specific audience during a momentous time; and yet his poems feel as though they were written last week precisely for us. Unvarnished, unimproved, shamanistic, his poems exude a raw, tumultuous energy that Hedeen and Lott catch every drop of. But be careful, reader. Don’t start this book at night; you not only won’t sleep a wink, but you may find yourself far from home—as far as the Caracas of your imagination—rushing through ill-lit streets in a frenzy.”
—Forrest Gander, judge of the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation and author of Twice Alive
Venezuelan poet Juan Calzadilla (b. 1931), past recipient of the National Visual Arts Prize and the National Prize in Literature, is considered one of the most influential poets of the Spanish language. In 1961 Calzadilla was a founding member of El Techo de la Ballena (The Roof of the Whale), an avant-garde collective that sought to fuse politics and aesthetics. He published three books of poetry under its umbrella—Dictated by the Pack (1962), Bad Manners (1965), and The Supernatural Contradictions (1967)—which are all presented here in a masterfully translated omnibus edition, with Spanish and English on facing pages. Decades later, these poems still resonate, profoundly illustrating a sense of entrapment, of societal pressures on the individual, and of steadfast refusal to give in. Suffused with surrealist imagery, exuberant, exciting, and unexpected, this is a breathtaking collection.
The main occupation we have given this prisoner is to force him to restlessly pace around
what on closer inspection turns out to be a labyrinth whose inside space exactly matches
the convulsions of his brain
A convicted man we have put to death . . .
—Excerpt from “The Prisoner of His Conscience”
Juan Calzadilla is one of Venezuela’s most celebrated poets, painters, and art critics. He is the author of more than twenty books of poetry and a recipient of Venezuela’s National Prize for the Visual Arts. His work, across both mediums, is characterized by political consciousness and formal innovation.
Katherine M. Hedeen has translated some of the most respected Latin American poets into English and has been a finalist for both the Best Translated Book Award and the National Translation Award. She serves as managing editor for Action Books and is a professor of Spanish at Kenyon College.
Olivia Lott’s translations have received recognitions from the Academy of American Poets, PEN America, and Words Without Borders. She is a postdoctoral research associate in the Program in Latin American Studies at Princeton University.
Praise
“Like waking in a dream to find a body that coincides strangely with itself, Hedeen and Lott’s stunning translations introduce readers of English to the surreal run-on intensities of Juan Calzadilla’s neo-avant-garde poetry. These poems are urban, committed, and revolutionary—arriving right on time to unsettle us in the best way possible.”
—Rebecca Kosick, author of Material Poetics in Hemispheric America: Words and Objects 1950-2010
“An important compendium and thoughtful translation of a body of work that is high among the most radical and frontal attacks on the mid-twentieth-century Venezuelan modernization project. The aftereffects of this critical chapter in Calzadilla’s poetic work—indeed, of his entire all-encompassing approach to unmaking art—reverberate and unsettle, even to this day.”
—María C. Gaztambide, author of El Techo de la Ballena: Retro-Modernity in Venezuela
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword by Víctor Rodríguez Núñez
Introduction by Katherine M. Hedeen and Olivia Lott
Dictado por la jauría / Dictated by the Pack (1962)
DICTADO POR LA JAURÍA / DICTATED BY THE PACK
vivo a diario / i live day by day
funcionario que celebra un ritual / a civil servant celebrates a ritual
escorpión / scorpion
vecindad del buitre / vulture neighborhood
esperando salvación / waiting for salvation
gracias al barniz / thanks to the varnish
mingitorio / urinal
una sala de juego / a cardroom
me reconozco / i see me
los métodos necesarios / the necessary methods
he sido otro / i have been another
golpeando el abismo / hitting the abyss
CON MALOS MODALES / WITH BAD MANNERS
con malos modales / with bad manners
cuarzo / quartz
el magma debe retornar / the magma must return
en memoria del ángel / in memory of the angel
los horizontes son nuestros brazos / the horizons are our arms
EL INVISIBLE SALE DE LA CASA / THE INVISIBLE MAN LEAVES THE HOUSE
“una vez que se toma el sombrero. . .” / “once a hat’s been picked up. . .”
DESCENDIENTE DE AHAB / DESCENDENT OF AHAB
“para un público enfermo. . .” / “for a sick public. . .”
fin del acto / end of the act
el doble hace su entrada / the double enters the scene
mi vocación de actor / my vocation as an actor
la venganza / revenge
poste / post
escalón / step
cadena sola / single chain
cuento / story
un hilo sobre el abismo / a thread above the abyss
sólo comer es una empresa / only eating is a business
me levanto / i get up
jonás siempre / always jonah
Malos modales / Bad Manners (1965)
“Ciudadano libre a un palmo por encima. . .” / “Free citizen just an inch above. . .”
CONTANDO HASTA CERO / COUNTING TO ZERO
Contando hasta cero / Counting to Zero
“Mis decisiones se encuentran demasiado cerca. . .” / “My decisions are too close. . .”
“Despierto Sigo vivo por ese solo instante. . .” / “Awake I am still alive for that one moment. . .”
“Todas mis preocupaciones son el hilo de donde cuelgo. . .” / “All my worries are the thread I hang from. . .”
Las armas invisibles / The Invisible Arms
Hago un alto / I Take a Break
S u b s i s t o / I S u b s i s t
Requisitoria de los trajes vacíos / Interrogation of the Empty Suits
RELEVO DE GUARDIA / CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Relevo de guardia / Changing of the Guard
Paisajes subterráneos / Subterranean Landscapes
Bajo nuevo aviso / Under New Notice
Ciudad sola / Lonely City
Una coincidencia / A coincidence
“Los espectáculos banales. . .” / “Banal spectacles. . .”
CACERÍA / HUNT
“Me llevan como una bestia doméstica. . .” / “Like a tamed beast. . .”
El prisionero de su conciencia / The Prisoner of His Conscience
Órbitas separadas / Separate Orbits
“Si he avanzado hacia adelante. . .” / “If I have made any progress. . .”
Debo decir / I Should Say
De transformaciones / On Transformations
“Demandas clemencia. . .” / “You demand clemency. . .”
Las contradicciones sobrenaturales / The Supernatural Contradictions (1967)
RELEVO DE GUARDIA / CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Decisiones / Decisions
Corona de reyes / Crown of Kings
Ases / Aces
Legítima defensa / Legitimate Defense
Tomas el pavimiento por la forma exacta de tu piel / You Take Pavement as the Precise Shape of Your Skin
Las apuestas / The Wagers
Arco de silex / Arc of Silex
SISTEMA DE CONDUCTA / BEHAVIOR SYSTEM
Por partida doble / Double Entry
Jaula para occisos / Cage for the Slain
Bestia I Bestia II Bestia III / Beast I Beast II Beast III
“Suelo tomar extrañas determinaciones. . .” / “I tend to make strange determinations. . .”
Otra dirección / A Different Direction
Órdenes / Orders
Imagen humeante / Smoking Image
CARNET DE ENUMERACIONES / ENUMERATIONS CARD
Máscara de papel / Paper Mask
Cubrir la duda con un mantel de fiesta / To Cover Doubt with a Fancy Tablecloth
Cuidado frágil / Warning Fragile
“La mirada quiere claraboyas. . .” / “The glance wants skylights. . .”
Fuerza bruta / Brute Force
“Salud. . .” / “To your health. . .”
“La contrariedad nacida. . .” / “The opposition born. . .”
ABISMO PÚBLICO / PUBLIC ABYSS
Hábitos / Habit
Dentro de la roca vacía / Inside the Empty Rock
De los reos / On Prisoners
Setencia / Sentence
Mandamiento / Commandment
C14 / C14
UN OJO DE CONTRAPESO / AN EYE AS COUNTERWEIGHT
Piedra sobre piedra / Stone upon Stone
“Sumiso” / “Submissive”
“De una caja de asfódelos empujada contra la corriente. . .” / “From a box of asphodels pushed against the current. . .”
“Pon atención Date cuenta Concéntrate. . .” / “Pay attention Realize Focus. . .”
La quinta parte del espíritu es el deseo de huir / The Fifth Part of the Spirit Is the Desire to Flee
“Entre jaulas de occisos. . .” / “Among cages of the slain. . .”
Appendix: An Interview with Juan Calzadilla by Víctor Rodríguez Núñez, translated by Katherine M. Hedeen and Olivia Lott
Acknowledgments
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