A Poetic Order of Excess: Essays on Poets and Poetry

José Lezama Lima (1910–1976) was one of the most influential writers in Latin American Literature. Born in Havana, Cuba, he lived through turbulent times in his country’s history. He was mainly a poet but gained attention with the publication of his autobiographical novel Paradiso (1966), which the press characterized as decadent and pornographic due to its homoeroticism, but which was soon recognized as a major work of the 20th century.

A Poetic Order of Excess collects Lezama Lima’s essays on poets of world literature such as Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Valéry, and Luis de Góngora. Also included are his essays on poetics and a selection of his own poems.

James Irby is a professor at Princeton University where he has taught Spanish, Portuguese, Spanish American Literature, Brazilian Literature, and Comparative Modern Fiction. He was a founding member of the Latin American Studies program and its Director from 1978 to 1981.

Jorge Brioso is a Professor of Spanish and Director of Latin American Studies at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.