About the Author:

Rafael Alberti
Spain
Rafael Alberti (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called Silver Age of Spanish poetry.

Retorcedme sobre el mar,
al sol, como si mi cuerpo
fuera el jirón de una vela.
Exprimid toda mi sangre.
Tended a secar mi vida
sobre las jarcias del muelle.
Seco, arrojadme a las aguas
con una piedra en el cuello
para que nunca más flote.
Le di mi sangre a los mares.
¡Barcos, navegad por ella!
Debajo estoy yo, tranquilo.
Rafael Alberti. Marinero en tierra, 25
* * *
Выкрути меня над морем,
на солнце, будто мое тело —
лоскут паруса.
Выжми из меня всю кровь.
Повесь мою жизнь сушиться
на такелаже пирса.
А высохну, брось меня в воду
с камнем на шее,
чтобы я не всплывал.
Свою кровь я отдал морям.
Плывите по ней, корабли!
Я спокоен, лежу на дне.
Перевод на русский Нины Косман
* * *
Wring me out over the sea,
in the sun, as though my body
were the shred of a sail.
Squeeze out all my blood.
Spread my life to dry
over the rigging of the pier.
Once dry, throw me into the water
with a stone around my neck
so that I’ll never float again.
I gave my blood to the seas.
Sail through it, ships!
I’m down below, resting.
English translation by Jose A. Elgorriaga & Martin Paul; 100 Poems by Rafael Alberti. San Francisco: Kosmos, 1981.

Rafael Alberti (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called Silver Age of Spanish poetry.
When Clea returns to London with her new Russian husband, she is surprised to see him become even more eccentric.
“13 short pieces…pungently convey the effects of growing up under a totalitarian regime.” .—Publishers Weekly
A new book of poems by Nina Kossman. “When the mythological and personal meet, something transforms for this reader…” —Ilya Kaminsky
Original poetry by Nina Kossman, accompanied by a selection of poems by Marina Tsvetaeva, translated from Russian by Kossman. “The sea is a postcard,” writes Nina Kossman. There is both something elemental in this vision and—iron-tough.”
—Ilya Kaminsky