Before you can get verses from the soul (Antes de sacarse los versos del alma) by José Lezama Lima

Poet: | Nationality: | Filmmaker:

Raúl Escobar directed this simple little film, illustrating a useful reminder from the great Cuban poet. An English translation of the aphorism might read:

Before you can get verses from the soul,
you need to get the soul out of the ass.

I suppose “versos del alma” is a reference to the first and most famous stanza of José Martí’s Versos Sencillos (later made the first verse of the song “Guantanamera”).

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