MICROGRAMAS

Ecuadoran poet Jorge Carrera Andrade (1902–1978), a diplomat who served in many countries, was a major figure in Latin American literature. A portion of his work has been considered by critics to be related to the avant-garde literary movements of the pre–World War II period. (He also translated the poetry of French Surrealist Pierre Reverdy into Spanish.) However, he never quite reached the heights of literary quality and fame of Neruda, Vallejo, Huidobro, Paz, Parra, or Borges, although he was a talented writer. Carrera Andrade’s term "micrograms" seems to indicate something like "small telegrams" but whatever he meant, whatever you call them, they are not haiku. This book under review is a translation of Carrera Andrade’s original work.