Your excellency free will. Excelentísimo albedrío

With the expertise of a skilled surgeon, the vision of a dreamer, and the soulfulness of a broken-hearted lover, Amparo Casasbellas Alconada explores different profound subjects in Your Excellency Free Will Excelentisimo Albedrio—including love and its loss, the beauty of life, and humanity’s struggle with pain and suffering. Amparo Casasbellas Alconada’s debut book of poems reflects her experience of life and her ponderings during a period of ten years.

Some poems are dedicated to the author’s relations and some others are dedicated to places and things that hold a nostalgic value for the author. Ninth of November, a poem dedicated to “Papa”, depicts Amparo’s connection with her father through poetry. She recalls bittersweet memories of her grandparents’ house in the poem, Monteagudo. A Church in Oviedo portrays a man who “wipes the benches of the sinners” as if they are being cleansed by his wipes.

Amparo Casasbellas Alconada paints images and plants ideas in the minds of readers with carefully selected concepts—like the moon, trees, horses, churches, the sun, healing, roots, silence, and songs. It’s hard to select a favorite as the poems are so creative and profound that I spent a good while contemplating the messages they pass. One of my favorite quotes in the book is from the poem, Fraternal Land: “We shall understand that we have too many borders that have heartbreakingly stolen our embraces.” The word “borders” from the poem signifies to me the different stereotypes people have about one another based on their identities, which create unnecessary strife and pain.

I liked that each poem is tagged with a location and a date as I got a glimpse of the environment of the author at the time of writing the poems. Literature enthusiasts will appreciate the use of personification, metaphor, simile, and other figures of speech in the book. I was completely immersed in the poems as I enjoyed the tasteful selection and combination of words.

Your Excellency Free Will Excelentisimo Albedrio is a gift of comfort and companionship for readers on a path of remembrance or deep reflection about life. Reading the first poem in the book was like taking the first bite of a rare, delicious delicacy. After devouring the book and feeding my soul with its passionate and deeply meaningful words, I felt a need to return to it again and again for a refill in the future. I applaud the author and the translators that contributed to creating this tour de force!