Sunday, January 11, 2009

a place to read Mishima



while being in Autlán
I was reminded of the beauty
of Yukio Mishima's literature
that fine literature that my dear friend Risa
introduced me to...

one of my mother's friend brought Mishima
to conversation, or was it me?
as were talking merrily about books
and then another of my mother's
intellectual friends lent her a copy
in Spanish of
El Pabellón de Oro

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion


even though I was reading Sick Puppy
as my main book
I couldn't resist to put my hands
and caress with my eyes all the letters
en Español escritas por uno de mis autores favoritos...

it was a delight to read for the 1st time
Mishima in Spanish
I have read Spring Snow, and his collection
of short stories
Death in Midsummer
but in English

Spanish has a special taste for me
and a cadence of words and sounds
that seem to flow better to Mishima's words

and while getting immerse in the beauty
of the landscapes and gardens described
in El Pabellón de Oro
I came to discover with my mother this wonderful
place in Zapopán, a Guadalajara municipality

The park Bosque Los Colomos
this is gigantic urban wood with
92 hectares area or 227 Acres
and in midst of those wood and other
cultural buildings
it's built an exact replica of a ceremonial
water garden in Japan

design to invite to the contemplation
and delight of the view and sound of water



what a better place to read Mishima!
i thought...

I had to leave the spanish copy of
El Pabellón de Oro back when I came back
to San Diego

it was my mother's loan, not mine after all
and i planned to finish the book here in English
yet...

being this park, 10 minutes walking distance from
our home in Guadalajara, i think i rather return
to this lovely enchanted place to finish Mishima
listening to the water play
while my eyes touching the letters in Spanish as well

5 comments:

P11 said...

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Frau Feli said...

Dear, Death in midsummer is such a great book! I loved the stories so much, I gave the book to a friend for her birthday..think, she likes it too. The atmosphere reminds a lot of these beautiful Zen-Gardens, and then suddenly anger or fear breaks through the surface. Woha. :) All the best to you! Hugs!

Georg said...

Bonjour Berenice,

Had a look at this "Bosque de los Colomos", unfortunately there are no photos of this garden. Fortunately, you show at least one here on your blog.

As to Mishima, wasn't this the guy who wanted to restore imperial Japan of old and finally committed seppuku?

Guadalajara means a lot to me, but in Spain. Didn't realize you have one in Mexico.

Cheers, Berenice,
Georg

bereweber said...

dear Frau Feli, you don't know how happy it makes me to know you've read that collection of stories! I do like Mishima's moody style on those... I think one of my favorite tales is "The Pearl", remember that one? with the group of 4 female friends and the birthday party, I love the attention to delicate matters & profound feelings that Mishima has. Also the last story, in English is called "Swaddling Clothes" a heartbreaking one!! and not to say about the story that gives title to the collection, excellent... I am sure your friend liked the book as well, it somehow reminds of another Japanese author i know you like, Haruki Murakami, i read 2 of his short stories collections, After the Quake: Stories and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, if you haven't read those, I highly recommend them

and dear Georg, yeah!! it's the same Murakami with the ultra-nationalism in Japan and the same one with the seppuku ceremony indeed! all his literature reflects in some point with death, with honor and death, I am looking forward reading his biography one day, for now, I am happy to read what he wrote just 'cause almost every sentence apart from being beautifully written, seems to enclose some universal truth. He is a very important character for the 20's century literature in Japan. Hope you get to read him too!

as for Guadalajara, yes! we have our own, Guadalajara was actually the 'city capital' of the state of "Nueva Galicia" when the Spaniards were in charge of the colony of "La Nueva España" then Nueva Galicia became 3 federal states in nowadays Mexico: Colima, Aguascalientes, and Jalisco (where Guadalajara is)

and yes, it's a shame that the website for the Bosque Colomos is not developed yet... but i do have much more pictures from the park! I just hope to have sometime soon to post them on 23, i will surely let you know!

Viele Grüße for my Berliner friends!! i just realized that both of you are Berlin-related, what a cheerful note, truly hope i can visit what i feel is a fantastic city one day!

bereweber said...

@Café P11

yes!! indeed i like your blog
thanks for that combo of Miles Davis and café! tasty :)