Kickstarter

That summer the grapes were blue – each one big, smooth, round. They were totally strange, fabulous, shining with an awful blue brilliance. On the paths through the vines you could hear them, growing with a deep, outrageous murmur.

And in the air there was always the perfume of violets.

This November, Ugly Duckling Presse is excited to be publishing The History of Violets, by Uruguayan poet Marosa di Giorgio. Originally published in 1965 in Spanish, this will be the first full-length work of di Giorgio’s published in an English-language edition.

Di Giorgio has been called “one of the most spectacular and strange Latin American poets of the past fifty years,” and we feel that these poems—which blend the natural and supernatural in a wild, haunting way—need to be read by a wider audience.

We are putting the finishing touches on the translation and the book design, but we still need $750 to help cover the costs of printing and promoting The History of Violets. Ugly Duckling is a labor of love, and all of our editorial and design labor is donated. We do everything we can to minimize production costs, especially by doing our own letterpress printing.

As a small non-profit, Ugly Duckling is sustained by sales, grants, and especially by donations from generous individuals like you. We hope you will support this project and help us spread the word about Marosa di Giorgio!

To learn more about Ugly Duckling Presse, please visit our website. To see our preview page for The History of Violets, please click here. Thanks!