El libro de traiciones / The Book of Betrayals

This is a unique poetry collection written in English and Spanish by Jennifer Rathbun. A well-known translator, this is her debut poetry collection; this long-awaited book will make history and become a classic among those who know that poetry knows no borders. "In these poems we find dual heritage and culture, the personal and historical, the task of the translator and lover in two languages. When the speaker in "Motherland" asks "where are your children now?" the question refers to the family but also the nation (Mexico) which loses its offspring. In "Reflection" the body of the mother becomes "the codex on which history is written." The present tense in "Dead Language" reveals the "magical eternity of the moment." Not all is magical, however: the wheat fields of the Midwest teach a grandmother in "Inheritance" that no tears should be shed on "trivialities" like "loss or longing." Betrayal there is, but also fidelity and the endurance of love". -Deborah Fleming, author of Resurrection of the Wild