Flower drift, divine observation

It's difficult, in a society full of malicious mediocrities who compete so fiercely against talent and passion, to come across literary works that still have, miraculously, the capacity to impress, to shake, to move us deeply… But these last few days I've been lucky enough to devour a memorable work, both for what this book raises and Flower drift by Damià Rotger Miró at Llentrisca Edicions, a publishing house that shines from the heart of Menorca with independence and discernment, and this will not be the last time I highlight the gems in its catalog.

It shouldn't be necessary to mention the recent triumphs of Damià Rotger Miró, but in our increasingly misinformed world, it is a just and imperative need. The fact is that this poet of hewn stone and brilliant typographer has recently won some very notable awards, such as the Vila de Lloseta Prize with Being and Lightning (in press) and the Ibn Hazm City of Xàtiva Award with Elemental nature (Edicions Bromera), notes that it engages in dialogue, forming a tandem in complementary feedback, with the poetry collection Flower drift which concerns us today. To put it plainly, in Catalan: this magnificent poetic duo is founded on contemplation as an act of creation, a key premise already well established by the master and friend Àngel Terron in his most celebrated poem, "De Rerum Natura." Rotger Miró, who in his artisan craft of typography has always had to scrutinize the smallest details, is a dazzling verbal demiurge who observes attentively through an intuition that allows him extraordinary achievements, verses of telluric power and of considerably better cosmic quality than I have mentioned on other occasions. However, Damià Rotger Miró has taken a step further and produced his most sublime book to date, also his best edited, with an exquisite cover that confirms that even a neuron can achieve the miracle of observation. For the author, writing is merely a bodily gesture, which completes the chromosomal and infinite adventure of having carefully observed, letting things speak through him, almost in a Rilkean way.

The pages of Flower driftThis important book exudes essential passion, but also a technical mastery that at times borders on virtuosity: all the poems, meticulously crafted linguistic artifacts endowed with different metrical forms, confirm that energy under control is even more ferocious. And, moreover, as a prologue and epilogue, we are treated to paratexts by the poet himself that offer fascinating reading coordinates, confirming him as a thinker and prose writer to be reckoned with. In short: brutal!