Tropical Town and Other Poems

Tropical Town and Other Poems, de la Selva's little-known first collection, was written in English while he resided in the U.S.; he employs traditional rhyme, meter, and forms such as the sonnet and quatrain. Some works celebrate de la Selva's native land, Nicaragua, while others, such as Finally and The Dreamer's Heart Knows Its Own Bitterness, speak of the United States with a mixture of admiration and misgiving. Love lyrics intermingle with folk songs and poems observing the war then raging in Europe. All are marked by a graceful verbal music, embodying what poet Grace Schulman has called "a poetry of deep concern for human suffering." In a thoughtful critical introduction, Silvio Sirias surveys the poet's life and work, and examines the "poetic dialogues" that de la Selva conducted with Millay and Dario.