Upper Volta
Upper Volta
$20.00
In stock
About the Book
Like an anthropologist doing fieldwork, in Upper Volta Yanko González collects language from street corners, grocery store aisles, cocktail hours, and historical sources, laying data bare with a poet’s meticulous hand. In his findings, González gives voice to the voiceless, and exposes the underbelly of our own biases—the ways in which they manifest in everyday language and collective consciousness. Originally published in Chile in 2007, Upper Volta transcends borders and boundaries in its exploration of topics all too relevant in our current political climate. Like a mirror, it forces us to look head-on at the language of globalization and ethnocentrism and the changing tide of thought and culture within our own society.
Author
Yanko González
Yanko González is a poet and Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the Universidad Austral de Chile. His works include de Metales Pesados, Héroes Civiles y Santos Laicos -entrevistas a escritores chilenos-, Alto Volta, Elabuga y Objetivo General. González also co-edited the poetry anthologies Carne fresca: poesía chilena reciente and ZurDos: Última poesía latinoamericana. In addition, his poems have appeared in multiple Chilean and Latin American Poetry anthologies, including Cuerpo plural: Antología de la poesía hispanoamericana contemporánea, The Alteration of Silence: Recent Chilean Poetry, and Ultima poesia chilena. In 2007, González received the Chilean Critics Award for the best poetry book for Alto Volta. His work has been translated into French, English, German and Dutch.
Translator
Stephen Rosenshein
Stephen Rosenshein is a writer, translator, and visual artist residing in Oakland, CA. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. His debut collection of street photography and poetry, Sincerely, Before, was published by Clarity Editions and was nominated for the Fine Art Photo Awards in Conceptual Photography. His work has also appeared in the International Poetry Review, Fusion Art, Poetry International, NAP, Chamber Four, and more. By day, Stephen is a narrative designer and video game writer.
Praise
In the News
Excerpt
example
They want me to leave as if I did not want to
So I tell them I’m going
But by the first
or fifth step
They come running to find me
to iron their air
Dig them a ditch
where they must cross dresses.
Yesterday was the same
I understood clearly
they want me to leave
this is what they discussed as I cared for their
children
I played what was played in Upper Volta
Example
The chair is called sink the door sardine
The table plate and the shoes cadira
So the children shouted
Yellow
Open up the sardine.
It was a game and they told me go
That I had to teach them the words
As they should have been
Example
opening the mouth
is called
laughing.