Life in B minor - Paperback

by William Bromwich (Translator), Michele Lalla (Author)

The book is a collection of poems on life, love, politics, memory, war, and caterpillars. In many of the poems the caterpillar is the speaking voice, which is unusual with respect to other books but not completely unheard of. As stated in the afterward, refracting human meanings through the prism of another species is often to be in literature because it allows greater freedom of expression, as the saying goes, from another point of view, which is always ours, but it belongs to a stranger in fiction. As a result, the language must be coherent and adequate to the bizarre situations while adopting more daring metaphors and unusual paths or more creative expressions. You may be able to tear the curtain down but, in any case, the caterpillar has done so already. You may even say that humans are less than caterpillars but in any case, the caterpillar has already said it. A concept can be expressed clearly and explicitly, otherwise how would caterpillars be able to understand it? You can mix familiar and unfamiliar words with totally invented ones that suggest meanings only with sounds or borrowed from an unfamiliar dialect conveying certain meanings. In fact, the caterpillar says: "I write freely about misdeeds, without a great deal of learning: a degree of ignorance may be more genuinethan too much culture at gut level." (page 72)This is enough for the readers to fill in the rest with their own insights or imagination. Just some examples of poems.COMPARATIVE DEITIESFrom tomes of spiritual mysteriesto Barbera, fleshy lipsbrush against the chalice of wineenvisioning salvationin the euphoria of inebriation.God has a plan for man, but the god of the caterpillar is no less thanthe God of man that dominates the universe.If you turn away from blasphemyyou shall sip the wine that leads to the Lord.Here you have religious scripturesconsisting of tomes of holy writingsclashing with logic.There you have the religion of the caterpillar, stirring like a dragonfacing the onslaught of the web of sin. (p.49)OUTCAST FIBERWe have no reason to give in to despair, say those at the top of the food chain.Those who are absent are ill-treated, and caterpillars are like monsters.With the survival of the fittest, caterpillars are trampled underfoot.The world governed by the eternal mythof Ulysses the imposter is not the only one, with a bloodthirsty monstersailing across the high seas: there is also the world of the caterpillarfollowing the dictates of the heartand demonstrating his lovefor the religion of the world he lives in.He intended to devote his life on earthto the faith of Buddha and Christbut clearly lacked the temperament. (p.54)It contains also three poems with strange worlds. Here is an example without the number of notes.ONOMATOPOEIAI do not have the insight of a prophet, but a medley of thoughts turned overby wishes sbrígola in the eye: a caterpillar sailor followingthe routes and making his way at the helm, where the wind blows ruffled.It grapples and carries the sails forward, it gets excited at the touch of the ruga, truffles or Tortuga, but the part of me that is stupid tortures meand the cockade causes me to makeilliterate grimaces at ciambonithat you believe to be cannon.Maybe we are soft caterpillars and trumpdicks, all spineless between veiled grasp-robbery, castellans gathering lovrogancein the aquarium of the galley attemptingto overcome the hammering waves.Much remains to be added, not by the author, but rather by the reader, who will hopefully manage to read the collection of poems all the way through to the end without ending up o