The Cumaean Sibyl: Selected Poetry of Gladys M. Ilarregui

In presenting herself, the poet, as a Cumaean Sibyl, Gladys M. Ilarregui is both archaic and modern. The fragmentation of knowledge, that appears to have occurred simultaneously with its discovery, leads to the conclusion that we possess the necessary knowledge, the keys to opening the doors, to understand the world if we could properly order the fragments of knowledge which we possess. Modern physics with its discoveries of ever smaller particles of matter has increased our awareness of fragmentation. Ilarregui's poetry orders fragments of myth, philosophy, science, personal experience and literature to recreate the experience of the late tewentieth-century. As the scenes of her poetry move easily over the western world from the Americas to Europe, her allusions range over the wide spectrum of ancient and modern art, science and literature. The ancient ideas of microcosm/macrocosm and of the four elements are as crucial as the modern idea of particles and perspectivism. The joining together of such diverse phenomena into a distinctly individual framework places Ilarregui in the forefront of Post Modern poets. Judy B. McInnis provides a brillant translation and a detailed analysis of three of Gladys M. Ilrragui's short books of poetry, Indian Journeys, Roles and Persons and Guide for the Perplexed.