Mexican Poet Javier Sicilia Retires From Literary Work

Javier Sicilia retires from literary work (Photo: Archive)

Milenio: Notimex

Mexico City • In January of 2014, the book of poems titled "Rastros" ("Traces") will be released in Spanish. It is a book the poet Javier Sicilia dedicated to his son, who died a victim of violence. With its publication, Javier Sicilia will permanently retire from literary work.

"A poet lives the language of his time, but when a tragedy of this nature happens, which touches the truly abominable, and so powerfully, the poet no longer has words sufficient to say it, because the language of everyday is degraded by the crime," declared the writer.

His voice breaking with emotion and a keen mix of feelings grounded in the day he lost his son, he added:

"For me personally, faced with this tragedy and touching the ineffable to such an extent, I don't have enough language to express myself."

Sicilia said that with "Rastros", the title that he has now selected "because it is what's left of my poetic work", he closes the cycle that began in 1982.  However, he added that his work will remain  for posterity, to be known by new and future generations.

During the interview, as part of his presentation at the Institute of Philological Research (IIF) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he attended the final reading of the International Meeting of Mystical Poetry, Sicilia referred to his literary work:

"In my poetry there is a mystical gaze that touches on many fundamental themes. More than that, it touches on the profound mystery of God, of the soul, which is a mystery. The mystic touches the most pure essences and, without ideological ties, expresses the spiritual experience by means of religion."

For the poet, the mystical is the highest degree of intimacy with God, and poetry is the highest degree of putting into words that which almost cannot be said.

"The mystic touches the substance of the ineffable that has no words to speak and seeks to say it through images or strange reverberations," he added.

In the closing ceremony, he read excerpts from his works "Oro" ("Gold"), "Pascua", ("Easter"), "Vigilias" ("Vigils") and from his latest book, "Tríptico del desierto" ("Desert Triptych"). The audience, mostly young, acclaimed the poet and made clear their admiration. Spanish original