{"product_id":"florentino-and-the-devil-alberto-arvelo-torrealba-9781848613485","title":"Florentino and the Devil","description":"\u003cp\u003eFlorentino and the Devil, a famous poem in Venezuela, is the story of a poetic duel, a contrapunteo, between Florentino, a llanero (a cattleman of the plains) and The Devil. Singing to a traditional joropo accompaniment on harp, four-stringed guitar and maracas, the contenders improvise rapid rhymes, trading thrust and counterthrust like swordsmen, showing off their mastery and boasting of their accomplishments, each trying to reduce the other to silence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlberto Arvelo Torrealba, 1905-1971, was a poet in the tradition of the \"Bards of the Plains\". Born in Barinas, he taught Spanish language and literature and published his first volume of verses, \u003cem\u003eMúsica del Cuatro\u003c\/em\u003e, in 1928. In 1940 the first version of \u003cem\u003eFlorentino y el Diablo \u003c\/em\u003eappeared in his \u003cem\u003eGlosas al Cancionero\u003c\/em\u003e. A lawyer and educator, he became President of the State of Barinas and of the Technical Council of Education, a Judge of Appeal, Ambassador to Bolivia and to Italy, Minister of Agriculture and Stockbreeding, and a member of the Academia Venezolana de la Lengua.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere at last is his \u003cem\u003eFlorentino y el Diablo\u003c\/em\u003e in a remarkable English version. Gloria Carnevali, the former Venezuelan cultural attaché in London, has advised the award-winning rhyming translator Timothy Adès. Her commentary on the poem is a masterly pen-portrait of the world of the cattlemen on the great parched and flooded plains of Venezuela.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alberto Arvelo Torrealba\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1848613482\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781848613485\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Shearsman Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/15\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 108\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.32lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.26d","brand":"Alberto Arvelo Torrealba","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44125478813951,"sku":"9781848613485","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_09e5532c-e3e5-4f17-80e3-edf1197d1380.jpg?v=1687442860","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/florentino-and-the-devil-alberto-arvelo-torrealba-9781848613485","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}