Ima y Coli: El Árbol que nunca fue Semilla

Ima and Coli Are the Tree That Was Never a Seed is Alejandro Pérez-Cortés’s poetic presentation of the history of Colima, Mexico, published here in both English and Spanish. The tree is an element/character in the book that appears and disappears throughout. Some poems are set in an ancient pre-Hispanic Colima; while others reflect the reality of a modern-day Colima, sadly stigmatized and eroded by violence perpetrated by the narcos.

In his introduction, preeminent Cuban poet José Kozer praises Pérez-Cortés: “Ima and Coli Are the Tree That Was Never a Seed comprises a voice that I consider poetic and that should be cared for and listened to with true interest. A voice that encompasses all, one that seeks to integrate, remake, and modify normative language when necessary, and to distort language that allows a better perception of the present and of everything that is historically behind a contemporary poet.”