Poto and Cabengo
Poto and Cabengo is a poetry anthology written by the award-winning Spanish actress, model, poet and author Alejandra Vanessa. The work was published in 2015 by the Valparaíso publishing house. Afraid to give a preview of the synopsis, summary or explanation of this book, it goes without saying that Poto and Cabengo It is a biased biography, a lecture on wordplay and a love letter to language.
At first glance, and without knowing the history behind Poto and Cabengo, It might seem that it is a strange, erroneous collection of poems, with multiple grammatical errors. However, This title pits the signified against the signifier, and finds a way to communicate a message outside the line marked by an established language., using mixes of German, English, Spanish and something new.
Origins of Poto and Cabengo
The poems by Alejandra Vanessa tells two stories alternately: his own and that of Grace and Virginia Kennedy, a pair of twins who, due to severe social isolation, created their own language to communicate with each other. Grace and Virginia were born in 1970 in Columbus, Georgia. Their first hours were normal, they held their heads and made eye contact with their parents.
However, Shortly afterward they suffered a seizure, and their father thought they suffered from some type of mental retardation.. Fearing the worst, the man asked the doctor for a diagnosis, and he only confirmed his fears. To protect his girls, Mr. Kennedy isolated them from the world. Not satisfied with this, his alleged condition caused both his father and his wife to leave their babies to fate.
How to learn to speak if no one speaks to you?
Both of Grace and Virginia's parents worked outside the home, so they left their daughters in the care of their grandmother., who only spoke German. Although the old woman took care of all the basic needs of the twins, she did not play or interact with them, creating the need for the little ones to have to find their own way of communicating, because they could not go to school or leave the house either. .
The father decided not to send them to school after finding out that they had developed a new language, which he considered as progress in his mental retardation. However, when the man lost his job and talked about his family at the unemployment office, a social worker suggested that he take his daughters to a speech therapist. Thus, they were taken to San Diego Children's Hospital.
The discovery of a false diagnosis
At the hospital, the family met therapist Alexa Kratze, who immediately told them that Virginia and Grace had a normal level of intelligence, even above average, since they had invented a completely new language and very complex. This was spoken by them very quickly, a staccato rhythm with characteristics of German, very poor English and other sounds.
This elements, added to its neologisms and various idiosyncratic grammatical modalities, They are the ones that Alejandra Vanessa uses to create each poem. This, at least, in terms of its most basic composition, that is: respecting the fast rhythm, word games, original linguistic compositions and unorthodox uses of the language.
The emotional seal of speaking without common words
Alejandra Vanessa She states that, since she learned the story of the Kennedy twins, she felt identified with their feelings, because she herself had gone through a stress crisis that, for several months, prevented her from communicating with the people around her.
Then, She began thinking about a new way of looking at language, making up words for herself and her friends.. According to the author, each person speaks their own language, has their own characteristic forms, formulas that must be respected when speaking with others.
In an interview, someone asked her why she had chosen the story of Poto and Cabengo if she does not speak German, English or the language invented by the twins in their book. In this regard, she responded: “All these languages intersect in the collection of poems, in the middle of the verses, in a confusing way, with the intention of also confusing the reader.”
Example of a conversation between Virginia and Grace
“Grace: Cabengo, padem manibadu peeta.
Virginia: Doan nee bada tengkmatt, Poto.”
Sample of the poetry that can be found in Poto and Cabengo
“With hands still wet”
“The mother dials the digits: six six five zero
seven nine four four one,
the number you dialed does not exist,
check it again.
Again six six five zero seven nine four one,
one less.
With each tone, interpret
what he eats, what he sweats, what fabric softener, what.
Instantly the conversation turns into another story:
one for God,
a for-god-for,
a God,
novesque
not me.
Y.
The phone, on the floor.
“The hands are dry.”
About the author
Alejandra Vanessa Jurado Bueno was born on May 16, 1981, in Córdoba, Spain. He graduated in Hispanic Philology from the University of Córdoba, taking his first literary steps in the poetry workshop coordinated by Pablo García Casado in the Córdoba Casa del Ciprés. Her work as a poet has been published in media such as Master of Vandalism, naked island, salamander, Müsu, The canvas hammock, Prima littera, Minotaur Notebooks o Bookplate.
His works have been translated into English and Italian, and he has won recognitions such as the First Prize for Sueños de San Valentín (2021), First prize in the III Poetry Contest of the Adamuz City Council. (2007), the Second Prize of the II Cardenal Salazar Short Fiction Contest (2004) and the Andalucía Joven Poetry Prize (2004).
Other books by Alejandra Vanessa
Poetry
- Marilyn wanted to be Marisol (2009);
- The pajama party (2005);
- Brevas novas (2004);
- nuns school (2005)
Inclusion in anthologies
- Radio Warsaw. Sample of young poetry from Córdoba (2004);
- May the Force be with you (2005);
- Spinners (2006);
- Poetic Thursdays II (2007);
- Being on the outskirts is also being inside: ten years of The Outskirts (2007);
- The Nights of the Crab (2008);
- Anthology of the kiss, latest Spanish poetry (2009);
- Sais: nineteen poets from La Bella Warsaw (2010);
- The life ahead (2012)
Narrative
- The bogeyman (2006)