Bonnie Proudfoot reviews The Parting Present / Lo Que Se Ira by Manuel Iris in the Athens News, December 9 issue.
The first thing a reader notices about The Parting Present / Lo Que Se Ira by Manuel Iris (Dos Madres Press, April 2021) is that this book of thirty-three poems has been written and printed in two languages, English and Spanish. The title, the Introduction, each poem, the notes and the acknowledgements appear in first in Spanish and then in English, set side by side, so that the readers can decide whether to read the book in Spanish or in English, or perhaps, like me, enjoy the English version of the poem, then savor the Spanish phrases, recalling nouns, adjectives, and verbs from academic classes and international travel. Even if, like me, your Spanish is at best paltry, the experience of this book becomes even richer when seeing both versions of each poem.
