From Commonplace

By Hugo García Manríquez

Translated by NAFTA

Available for pre-order from Cardboard House Press!

The Popol Vuh records the rebellion
of the objects and animals
against human endeavors

That revolt was collected in the myths of the continent

With the return of every form there are animals

With the return there are sticks, even stones, dishes, spoons
there are comals, there are clay jugs, there are their plates, their pots
small animals, big animals
there are domesticated animals, the dog, the turkey

The historical forms of the continental imaginary
recorded the rebellion
of that irrational, subaltern
dead matter

Those forms registered the basic
operation of poetry: the interruption

Within that revolt exists an imminent historical lesson

The grindstone for the maíz:

All the time with our
faces we ground each day
and each night until dawn:

¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!
¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!

(in Maya K’iche’)

holi, holi, huqui, huqui
joli joli juqui juqui

(in Ximénez’s version)

rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub

(in Tedlock’s version)

joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui
joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui ¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui juqui
joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip
rrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui juqui ¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!,
¡juk’!, joli joli
juqui joli rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui juqui juqui
juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui
juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
joli joli juqui ¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!, joli
juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli
joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui joli joli
juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui
joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli juqui juqui joli joli
juqui juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
joli joli juqui juqui joli joli juqui
juqui joli ¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!
juqui rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub joli joli ¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!

dissonance collapse
of a previous order

before after sound
before after sense

a new nothing
traverses the poem

as capital
traverses the century

reactivating insurrection

the insurrection
of objects
the uprising
of matter

En el Popol Vuj se registra la rebelión
de los objetos y animales
en contra de la tentativa humana

Esa revuelta fue recogida en mitos del continente

Con el retorno de cada forma hay animales

Con el retorno hay palos, incluso piedras, trastes, cucharas
hay comales, hay las tinajas, hay sus platos, sus ollas
pequeños animales, animales grandes
hay animales domesticados, el perro, el guajolote

Las formas históricas de la imaginación continental
registraron el alzamiento
de esa materia muerta
irracional, subalterna

Esas formas registraron la operación
básica de la poesía: la interrupción

En esa revuelta existe una inmanente lección histórica

La piedra moledora del maíz:

Todo el tiempo con nuestras
caras nos molían cada día
y cada noche y al amanecer:

¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!
¡jóoli’!, ¡jóoli’!, ¡juk’!, ¡juk’!

(en maya quiché)

holi, holi, huqui, huqui
joli joli juqui juqui

(en la versión de Ximénez)

rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub
rrrip rrrip, rrrub rrrrub

(en la versión de Tedlock)

disonancia colapso
de un orden anterior

antes después del sonido
antes después del sentido

una nueva nada
atraviesa el poema

como el capital
atraviesa el siglo

reactivando la insurrección

la insurrección
de los objetos
el alzamiento
de la materia

Born in Mexico in 1978, Hugo García Manríquez is a poet and translator. His most recent full-length collections are Anti-Humboldt: A Reading of the North American Free Trade Agreement (2015), and Lo común (2018). He has translated William Carlos Williams’ Paterson (2009); George Oppen’s Of Being Numerous (2019); a collection of essays and poems by Sean Bonney, El lenguaje de las barricadas (2021); After Lorca y otros poemas, an anthology of Jack Spicer’s work (2022), among others. He lives in Oakland, California.

The North American Free Translation Agreement/No America Fraught Translation Argument (NAFTA), ratified in 2019, currently consists of three poets writing from the occupied territories of Canada, Mexico, and the United States: Whitney Celeste DeVos, Zane Koss, and Gerónimo Sarmiento Cruz. Their translations of Jesús Arellano Meléndrez have appeared in Denver Quarterly, and additional translations of Karen Villeda have appeared in Folder. Selections of this manuscript can be found in tripwire: a journal of poetics.

Poesía en acción is an Action Books blog feature for Latin American and Spanish poetry in translation and the translator micro-interview series. It was created by Katherine M. Hedeen and is currently curated and edited by Olivia Lott with web editing by Paul Cunningham.

Poesía en acción #28 | From Commonplace by Hugo García Manríquez and NAFTA

From Commonplace

By Hugo García Manríquez

Translated by NAFTA