Time Without Keys

The celebrated writer lvaro Mutis envied new readers of Ida Vitales poetry: unexpected pleasures await them. Time Without Keys: Selected Poems is the first volume of Vitales illustrious poetry to appear in the US. The selection spans seventy-five years and the wonders within aboundthe skies over Montevideo, falconry, the saxifrages bloom, gratitude for the alphabet and summeras do urgent questions about our relationship with the world. How does our perception of time shape history, as well as our social and political constructs? Vitales poetic and human vitality have made her a storied figure in the Spanish language and beyond; her writing revered for being classic and modern, precise and lucid, intellectually challenging and rich in tradition. This bilingual edition, presented in reverse chronological order, offers the reader both a wide range of Vitales most beloved poems, as well as a wealth of recent work. The translator Sarah Pollack, Vitales first translator into English, has written an informative afterword about Vitales life and work.