Description: Paraguayan Sorrow by Rafael Barrett, William Costa The first-ever English translation of one of the legends of the Latin American left Rafael Barrett was born into the Spanish elite, but in the six intense years that he spent in Paraguay, he shed his past to become one of the most notable voices speaking out against the rampant imperialism gripping Latin America. Arriving in a nation constructed upon a foundation of bones following the Triple Alliance War of 1864-1870, Barrett was thrown by chance into the "Paraguayan sorrow" that haunted that landlocked nation in the heart of Latin America. More than half the population had been wiped out in the merciless conflict. A ferocious pattern of capitalist imperialism had taken hold. The apocalyptic war had ended a period of relative economic independence, and-as competing elites allied with foreign interests squabbled over rulership-Paraguays poor workers entered a long descent into utter degradation. All that Barrett witnessed prompted him to discard the vestiges of his past as an upper-class liberal dandy in Madrid, shifting his politics rapidly to the left and becoming a key ally of the growing Paraguayan anarcho-syndicalist movement. As skirmishes between Paraguays national elites pushed the country from one military uprising to the next, Barretts prolific articles in the capital citys press broke the silence on deep social, economic, and political problems playing out in urban and rural areas. Barrett transformed into one of Paraguays most vivid commentators, denouncing private property and the state, and one of the most vocal defenders of the heavily marginalized culture, language, and landscapes of the Paraguayan popular classes. He paid the ultimate price for his metamorphosis, ultimately facing banishment from the nations intelligentsia, poverty, exile, and a tuberculosis infection that would soon end his life. Despite Barretts position as a legendary figure in Paraguayan, Uruguayan, and Argentinian leftist circles, especially among anarchists, his work has endured long periods of relative obscurity since his death. Among Barretts wide-ranging texts, he is often remembered for a brave exposé of the horrors committed against Paraguayan workers by powerful international companies that extracted the leaf of the yerba mate tree from the depths of enormous enclaves of forest they controlled. Barretts attack on this state-backed system of debt slavery would position him as a forerunner of anti-neocolonial writing in Latin America. This edition of his striking book Paraguayan Sorrow (1911), which includes his writing on the yerba mate forests, forms part of a wave of renewed interest in a striking body of writing covering an enormous number of disciplines and geographical regions. With its vivid landscapes, precise analysis, and bold denouncements, this first-ever English translation of Paraguayan Sorrow brings us a relevant and inspiring resource for the analysis of imperialism in Paraguay, Latin America, and across the globe. FORMAT Hardcover CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Rafael Barrett (1876-1910) was a Spanish essayist, journalist and social commentator whose writing on Paraguay was praised by the likes of Jorge Luis Borges and Eduardo Galeano. After a period of intense persecution and exile he died at the early age of thirty-four. William Costa is a freelance journalist and translator in Asunción, Paraguay. He has written for the Paraguayan and international press on issues relating to the land struggles of Indigenous and campesino communities, the environment, and yerba mate. Review "El Dolor Paraguayo has for decades been an essential text of the Paraguayan left, and William Costas brilliant translation shows why it has remained so current. A powerful condemnation of the politics of its time, it is conveyed through subtle, lyrical portraits of people and landscapes that Barrett encountered in his travels. For anyone who knows contemporary Paraguay, the effect of reading these reports, reflections and parables today is nothing short of astonishing: the landscape has changed drastically, and yet the people that Barrett describes, their joys and quotidian concerns, the weight of everyday violence, feel like they could have been captured yesterday. But for all their specificity, their rooting in the rhythms of Paraguayan life, language, mythology and cares, these are also universal reflections that forcefully convey Barretts profound sense of justice in a place where the state and policing are just one more form of violence. Costa is to be commended for a fabulously readable translation that conveys not Barretts rhetorical mastery, the timelessly urgency of his call for justice, and the clarity of his voice to an English-speaking audience."--Kregg Hetherington, author of The Government of Beans: Regulating Life in the Age of Monocrops (Duke University press, 2020), and Guerrilla Auditors: The Politics of Transparency in Neoliberal Paraguay (Duke University press, 2011)"Rafael Barrett was an unsung Latin American hero whose voice remains as relevant today as it was in the early 20th century. He was a towering tree that germinated deep forests of rebellion and utopia in Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. He lived and died according to his ideals: he championed the cause of the working class, campesinos and the dispossessed, which led him to numerous confrontations and exile.An extraordinary writer--though short-lived and somewhat tumultuous--he covered a wide range of topics such as ecology, gender equality, anti-imperialism, anti capitalism, philosophy, beauty, love, etc. and explored diverse literary genres.Paraguayan Sorrow is Rafael Barretts most important work, and William Costas meticulous translation and study, along with Mirna Robles foreword, is the best introduction to this legendary revolutionary, who, although rebellious, was a fragile and sensitive man driven by love. Paraguayan Sorrow resonates to this day as it tells a poignant story of exploitation and dispossession --"Paraguay has always been the great provider of the flesh that sweats gold"-- that is nevertheless universal, for it is the story of all oppressed peoples, especially in the Global South."--Norma Flores Allende, Salvadoran writer based in Asuncion"There is very rarely true reparation for crimes committed against entire peoples. Almost never. Perhaps that is why we cling so tightly to our images of Mary, Christ, the saints, and prayer cards. Fortunately, there were--and there still are--writers and others who have looked to reconstruct these devastated peoples through the arts, sciences, and literature. Literature is where Rafael Barrett made the greatest contribution to the history of our mestizo nation. What is it that Barrett experienced and that moved him to action? What if not the orphanhood and sorrow of a people that had suffered a genocide in the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870), the most brutal war in that key period of consolidation of modern, liberal, neocolonial states. He observed, experienced and narrated the reality of a people whose nation-state, built on the free occupation of public lands by campesino families, had been completely destroyed. With one stroke of the pen, those public lands were handed over to foreign extractivist companies, leaving many families subjected to a regime of slavery.Paraguays railroad was ceded to an English company and its iron foundry, which had been used to make tools, plows, machetes, rifles and ammunition, was left in ruins. This was a clear sign of why they had come to eliminate the Paraguayan people: so that they would never again think of undertaking any industrial or economic process independent of the centers and subcenters of imperialism. For this reason, this English edition of Paraguayan Sorrow, though late, forms part of a small historical reparation to our people. We welcome it and wish for it to circulate as widely as possible among readers. To Barrett, the great Spanish writer. To Paraguay. To Latin American history."--Julio Benegas Vidallet, award-winning journalist, author of La masacre de Curuguaty (2013), novelist, and former general secretary of the Paraguayan Journalists Union."In his tragically short life Rafael Barrett became the foremost critic of social injustice in Paraguay, and played a pivotal role in the genesis of the socialist movement. His writings still have great resonance in this little-known country suffering extreme income and economic inequality, inspiring generations of young Paraguayans to follow in his footsteps and become socially engaged journalists. With his excellent translation and accompanying biography, William Costa has played a major service in bringing Barretts work out of the shadows to a global readership."--Andrew Nickson, Honorary Reader in Public Management and Latin American Studies, University of Birmingham, England/Inglaterra"To read Barrett is to be inspired by his prose, to feel the depth of his analytical thinking, his immense disdain for injustice, his dedication to defending the most vulnerable, his constant struggle against the powerful, his authentic humanity. To read his collection Paraguayan Sorrow is to be immersed in a personality brimming with irrepressible strength in the fight for social justice as he describes the veritable slavery of the workers of the yerba mate forests as had never been done before. William Costas excellent introduction will familiarize you with aspects of his short life and the prolific literary work he produced over just the six final years of his unforgettable existence."--Rafael Barrett Viedma, grandson of Rafael Barrett, administrator of the Rafael Barrett Foundation, and key historical member of the Paraguayan Communist Party Details ISBN1685900798 Author William Costa Pages 240 Year 2024 ISBN-13 9781685900793 Format Hardcover Publication Date 2024-10-01 Country of Publication United States Edited by William Costa Audience General US Release Date 2024-10-01 Subtitle Writings of Rafael Barrett, a Radical Voice in a Dispossessed Land Publisher Monthly Review Press,U.S. Imprint Monthly Review Press,U.S. Place of Publication New York AU Release Date 2024-09-30 ISBN-10 1685900798 UK Release Date 2024-10-01 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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