In an evening of Bi-Lingual Reading

Co-Sponsored by Copper Canyon Press and Two Lines Journal

celebrating the release of

Before Saying Any of the Great Words: Selected Poems of David Huerta

published by Copper Canyon Press

Translated by Mark Schafer

This volume selects poems from across David Huerta's career and includes excerpts from the first-ever English translation of his monumental book-length poem, Incurable, which one critic called "a masterpiece of poetry in Spanish in the twentieth century."

David Huerta has been a central figure in two of the most influential poetic movements in late-twentieth-century Latin America -- the neobaroque movement and that of postmodern language poetry. His imagery, intertextuality, and dense lyricism remain unparalleled in Mexican letters. In 2005 he was awarded the prestigious Xavier Villaurrutia Prize for his lifelong contributions to Mexican literature.

Mark Schafer is a Lecturer in Spanish and Translation and Co-coordinator of the Spanish-English Translation Certificate Program in the Hispanic Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He has translated poetry, novels, short stories, and essays by many Latin American authors, including Alberto Ruy Sanchez, Virgilo Pinera, Jesus Gardea, Antonio Jose Ponte, and Sonia Rivera-Valdes. In 2004, Junction Books published Migrations, his translation of Gloria Gervitz's epic poem Migraciones. Schafer has received grants and awards for his translations, including the Robert Fitzgerald Prize, two translation fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a grant from the Fund for Culture Mexico-USA. Schafer's translation of Huerta's poetry was made possible by the second translation fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and a residency at the Banff International Literary Translation Centre.