What do you think?
Rate this book
Poemas de la oficina / Poemas del hoyporhoy
Poetry. Latino/Latina Studies. Translated from the Spanish by Harry Morales. One of Latin America's most widely read writers, Uruguay's Mario Benedetti has dazzled the literary world as a poet, novelist, essayist, critic, journalist, playwright, songwriter, and screenwriter. This first ever bilingual edition of ONLY IN THE MEANTIME & OFFICE POEMS introduces Benedetti's poetry to the English-speaking audience. Opening as reflections of everyday life in Montevideo, the poetry blossoms into an art which speaks to all people from all walks of life. Benedetti's extraordinary handling of irony and simplicity alongside his poetry's unmistakable rhythm make him one of the most brilliant observers of 20th century life. Benedetti's poetry, like that of many of his compeers, has long been overshadowed by his fine prose. This has now been corrected in this superb rendering into English--Gregory Rabassa.
- GenresPoetry
80 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Mario Benedetti
319 books2,498 followersMario Benedetti (full name: Mario Orlando Hamlet Hardy Brenno Benedetti Farugia) was a Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet. Despite publishing more than 80 books and being published in twenty languages he was not well known in the English-speaking world. He is considered one of Latin America's most important 20th-century writers.
Benedetti was a member of the 'Generation of 45', a Uruguayan intellectual and literary movement and also wrote in the famous weekly Uruguayan newspaper Marcha from 1945 until it was forcibly closed by the military government in 1973, and was its literary director from 1954. From 1973 to 1985 he lived in exile, and returned to Uruguay in March 1983 following the restoration of democracy.
Benedetti was a member of the 'Generation of 45', a Uruguayan intellectual and literary movement and also wrote in the famous weekly Uruguayan newspaper Marcha from 1945 until it was forcibly closed by the military government in 1973, and was its literary director from 1954. From 1973 to 1985 he lived in exile, and returned to Uruguay in March 1983 following the restoration of democracy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 26, 2018
Melancholy during Sundays. Fear of Mondays. Salaries. The new guy at the office that loses all his glow as time goes by. Debts. Walls. Meetings. Bosses. Humor. Gossip. Death. Corruption. Hope.
Is life passing you by?
Benedetti dedicated this book to the office, to ordinary things, to daily problems. Most of his poems are about the lives of people that work in an office. And I just loved it because there are many things to analyze in here. You think about an office and you feel like it couldn't get any more boring. And you're probably right. Nothing interesting happens in an office. Nothing but papers and coffee and work. Because you'd have to be inside people's heads to listen to the song they're singing while you're talking to them, or see what they really think of you while you're shaking their hands, or hear the screaming when they're looking through a window. Their silence can be heartbreaking. The silence of anonymity is loud.
I found sad, heartfelt and humorous poems all over this book. Just like the experience of being at work. We're talking about a poet that can write about salaries or bank accounts without losing the ability of dazzling you. So this is certainly a remarkable work. There's a Kafka vibe that I couldn't escape from. That suffocating feeling of being a small person lost among huge walls and giant piles of papers, while you're witnessing all the excitement of life through a little window. Sure, not everything is that gloomy. However, that feeling haunted me from time to time. Still, what I loved the most is the fact that Benedetti's poetry is simple; there's no arrogance in his style, no complicated words that end up saying nothing (and yet, there's meaning behind his simplicity). Almost no commas, few periods. Nothing but words and music.
So yes, you have a job. You have a salary that helps you bring food to your table and clothes to your closet. But does it make you happy? Are you actually living? Sure, it's not the end of the world. There are people that would love to have your job. Any job. You don't like what you do, then. You feel like you're wasting an entire life doing something that you don't enjoy but need to do. What's the big deal? Suck it up. Be a man and a lady. Be content. It's not like a painful death caused by a thousand needles that are pinching your heart. Or is it?
Are we only allowed to enjoy a clear blue sky when our lives are almost over? Does it really depend on how we see it?
I know, some people will understand that poem, some won't (Do I dare to translate it myself? Certainly not!). I also know there are more questions than statements in this review. This book is THAT good. Benedetti is that good. I must admit that I'm not a big fan of Latin American poetry. Borges, Pizarnik, a bit of Storni, Vallejo, Girondo, Neruda (few poems, actually). But Benedetti is an amazing writer I've recently discovered and that you must get to know, if you're interested.
I regret not being able to speak Russian or German to read my favorite authors without the assistance of any translator. Then I read books like this one. And I remember how lucky I am of speaking my language and being able to appreciate its beauty without a third person's subjectivity. And then I feel like home, again.
March 28, 14
* Also in my blog.
Is life passing you by?
Benedetti dedicated this book to the office, to ordinary things, to daily problems. Most of his poems are about the lives of people that work in an office. And I just loved it because there are many things to analyze in here. You think about an office and you feel like it couldn't get any more boring. And you're probably right. Nothing interesting happens in an office. Nothing but papers and coffee and work. Because you'd have to be inside people's heads to listen to the song they're singing while you're talking to them, or see what they really think of you while you're shaking their hands, or hear the screaming when they're looking through a window. Their silence can be heartbreaking. The silence of anonymity is loud.
I found sad, heartfelt and humorous poems all over this book. Just like the experience of being at work. We're talking about a poet that can write about salaries or bank accounts without losing the ability of dazzling you. So this is certainly a remarkable work. There's a Kafka vibe that I couldn't escape from. That suffocating feeling of being a small person lost among huge walls and giant piles of papers, while you're witnessing all the excitement of life through a little window. Sure, not everything is that gloomy. However, that feeling haunted me from time to time. Still, what I loved the most is the fact that Benedetti's poetry is simple; there's no arrogance in his style, no complicated words that end up saying nothing (and yet, there's meaning behind his simplicity). Almost no commas, few periods. Nothing but words and music.
So yes, you have a job. You have a salary that helps you bring food to your table and clothes to your closet. But does it make you happy? Are you actually living? Sure, it's not the end of the world. There are people that would love to have your job. Any job. You don't like what you do, then. You feel like you're wasting an entire life doing something that you don't enjoy but need to do. What's the big deal? Suck it up. Be a man and a lady. Be content. It's not like a painful death caused by a thousand needles that are pinching your heart. Or is it?
Are we only allowed to enjoy a clear blue sky when our lives are almost over? Does it really depend on how we see it?
Después
El cielo de veras que no es éste de ahora
el cielo de cuando me jubile
durará todo el día
todo el día caerá
como lluvia de sol sobre mi calva.
Yo estaré un poco sordo para escuchar los árboles
pero de todos modos recordaré que existen
tal vez un poco viejo para andar en la arena
pero el mar todavía me pondrá melancólico
estaré sin memoria y sin dinero
con el tiempo en mis brazos como un recién nacido
y llorará conmigo y lloraré con él
estaré solitario como una ostra
pero podré hablar de mis fieles amigos
que como siempre contarán desde Europa
sus cada vez mas tímidos contrabandos y becas.
Claro estaré en la orilla del mundo contemplando
desfiles para niños y pensionistas
aviones
eclipses
y regatas
y me pondré sombrero para mirar la luna
nadie pedirá informes ni balances ni cifras
y sólo tendré horario para morirme
pero el cielo de veras que no es éste de ahora
ese cielo de cuando me jubile
habrá llegado demasiado tarde.
I know, some people will understand that poem, some won't (Do I dare to translate it myself? Certainly not!). I also know there are more questions than statements in this review. This book is THAT good. Benedetti is that good. I must admit that I'm not a big fan of Latin American poetry. Borges, Pizarnik, a bit of Storni, Vallejo, Girondo, Neruda (few poems, actually). But Benedetti is an amazing writer I've recently discovered and that you must get to know, if you're interested.
Angelus
Quién me iba a decir que el destino era esto.
Ver la lluvia a través de letras invertidas,
un paredón con manchas que parecen prohombres,
el techo de los ómnibus brillantes como peces
y esa melancolía que impregna las bocinas.
Aquí no hay cielo,
aquí no hay horizonte.
Hay una mesa grande para todos los brazos
y una silla que gira cuando quiero escaparme.
Otro día se acaba y el destino era esto.
Es raro que uno tenga tiempo de verse triste:
siempre suena una orden, un teléfono, un timbre,
y, claro, está prohibido llorar sobre los libros
porque no queda bien que la tinta se corra.
I regret not being able to speak Russian or German to read my favorite authors without the assistance of any translator. Then I read books like this one. And I remember how lucky I am of speaking my language and being able to appreciate its beauty without a third person's subjectivity. And then I feel like home, again.
March 28, 14
* Also in my blog.
January 20, 2020
Each of the two collections resonates with a charm of truth and proverbial beauty. Each teems with a corresponding resignation. I was moved by the tactical verbs, a swarm of encirclement, amidst the quotidian. The poet gives us a lyric of the banal. There's a sidelong distance required, a water cooler meditation. We are all the richer for such.
November 15, 2015
Poetry, hmm. i'm pretty sure i don't "get" a lot of what i read, so i feel like a fraud rating it. it seems a bit like rating sunsets - no, i can do that. i love Benedetti's prose and enjoyed this, as far as i understood it.
This is the end of a poem i'm pretty sure i understood, named "Oh":
"...But now that you’re alone
now that They can’t see you
relieve yourself
scream
argue
say shit
pound on the table
become unbearable
please
say no
say no many times
until you become hoarse.
It doesn’t cost anything
boss
try it.”
This is the end of a poem i'm pretty sure i understood, named "Oh":
"...But now that you’re alone
now that They can’t see you
relieve yourself
scream
argue
say shit
pound on the table
become unbearable
please
say no
say no many times
until you become hoarse.
It doesn’t cost anything
boss
try it.”
April 18, 2015
sadly, so little of mario benedetti's writing is available in english translation. the uruguayan novelist, poet, playwright, and journalist was revered throughout the spanish-speaking world, yet remains criminally un(der)read in the u.s.
collecting some of benedetti's earliest poetry, only in the meantime & office poems (sólo mientras tanto and poemas de la oficina) features work from 1948-1950 and 1953-1956, respectively. benedetti's poetry evolved thematically over the decades, but this poems often deal with the simplicity of daily life and the yearning for something more rewarding. bendetti's writing was a gift and he is deserving of a far greater audience amongst those interested in translation. this bilingual collection would be a great introduction to his work (or check out blood pact and other stories, if short stories are more your thing).
*translated from the spanish by harry morales.
collecting some of benedetti's earliest poetry, only in the meantime & office poems (sólo mientras tanto and poemas de la oficina) features work from 1948-1950 and 1953-1956, respectively. benedetti's poetry evolved thematically over the decades, but this poems often deal with the simplicity of daily life and the yearning for something more rewarding. bendetti's writing was a gift and he is deserving of a far greater audience amongst those interested in translation. this bilingual collection would be a great introduction to his work (or check out blood pact and other stories, if short stories are more your thing).
the first glances
no one knows on what solitary october night,
of fatigued goblins who no longer appear,
the lost infancy can be sacrificed
alongside memories that are being made.
what a surprise to have suffered in desolation,
hear how anger trembles in the temples,
in the chest, in the impatient muscles
feel how the lips divest themselves
of marvelous and careless verbs,
of defended numerals in the dead air,
and how other words, new, hardened
and already tired conspire
to obstruct the only true phantom for us.
how to find a place with the first look,
a place where to grasp the long solitude
with the first look, without wasting
the first glances,
and if there remains maltreatments of meanings,
shells of ideas, filthy purity,
how to find a river with the first steps,
a river - to wash them - that will take them.
*translated from the spanish by harry morales.
November 19, 2019
QUE MARAVILHA! A primeira parte não me pareceu tão incrível, ainda que tenha momentos e poemas realmente incríveis...já em Poemas del hoyporhoy descobri ao Benedetti existencial. Até então, só conhecia a face romântica, melancólica e platônica de Mario, mas agora que sei o lado mais filosófico, mais cinza, mais "perturbada" do poeta uruguaio, não quero saber mais das outras (brincando, quero sim).
Mais que recomendado!
Mais que recomendado!
September 16, 2024
La poesía no es lo mío.
June 16, 2009
I discovered this poet after seeing the movie "The Dark Side of the Heart" (great and relatively little known Argentinian film). I have to say, compared to Borges or Bolano there isn't much here but I am intrigued enough to check out his short stories, which I have heard are better than his poetry. We'll see.
October 6, 2021
Me sorprendió esta obra de Benedetti. Él no es uno de mis poetas favoritos pero, aquí, principalmente en la primera mitad del libro, atrapa con todos esos poemas super creativos y con una temática de la oficina. Me encanta que de un solo tema se pueda crear tantos matices diferentes.
¡Totalmente recomendado!
¡Totalmente recomendado!
October 18, 2022
“…pero todo está claro
y es más dulce
más útil
sobre todo más dulce
reconocer que el tiempo está pasando
que está pasando el tiempo y hace ruido
y sentirse de una vez para siempre
olvidado y tranquilo
como un cero a la izquierda”.
y es más dulce
más útil
sobre todo más dulce
reconocer que el tiempo está pasando
que está pasando el tiempo y hace ruido
y sentirse de una vez para siempre
olvidado y tranquilo
como un cero a la izquierda”.
March 29, 2024
✩/✩ (1,5)
Con dos libros en uno, esta edición (en mi caso, de Booket) recoge Poemas de la oficina (1953-1956) y Poemas del hoyporhoy (1958-1961). Hablamos de un Benedetti de entre 33 y 41 años, ya con tres o cuatro libros publicados, entre poesía, cuentos y novela.
Ambos libros prometen. Las premisas de los poemas, las ideas iniciales, las inspiraciones, los motivos o como queramos llamar a todo eso que Benedetti desarrolló extensamente en toda su obra (la estética citadina, montevideana, oficinista) son buenas. Pero en muchas ocasiones sucede —corrijamos: «me sucede», debería decir todo lector cada vez que habla— que la realización de esas ideas es muy sencilla, muy simple. No burda, pero simple. Tal vez el autor estaba buscando cuál era el límite del lenguaje claro y sencillo, dónde estaba la frontera que no querría cruzar.
No quiero decir que el lenguaje tendría que ser más complejo, que tendría que haber recursos acaso pasados de moda, sinónimos y demás (en todo caso eso sería decisión suya), sino que lo que los poemas acaban diciendo es simple de más; el propio mensaje, la propia realización de la idea.
Rescato, sin embargo —¿solo se rescata lo que está muriendo?—, algunos textos. «Amor, de tarde» (el que dice «Es una lástima que no estés conmigo / cuando miro el reloj y son las cuatro») y «Es tan poco», el musicalizado por Zitarrosa. También me marqué «Los pitucos», «Pobre Dios», y también rescataría «Dactilógrafo», que tiene un juego interesante en el que el yo lírico, mientras escribe una notificación de deuda, piensa y recuerda cosas de su infancia, que se intercalan con las expresiones de rigor.
Seguiremos con otros poemas de Benedetti en el futuro a ver qué más se encuentra.
Con dos libros en uno, esta edición (en mi caso, de Booket) recoge Poemas de la oficina (1953-1956) y Poemas del hoyporhoy (1958-1961). Hablamos de un Benedetti de entre 33 y 41 años, ya con tres o cuatro libros publicados, entre poesía, cuentos y novela.
Ambos libros prometen. Las premisas de los poemas, las ideas iniciales, las inspiraciones, los motivos o como queramos llamar a todo eso que Benedetti desarrolló extensamente en toda su obra (la estética citadina, montevideana, oficinista) son buenas. Pero en muchas ocasiones sucede —corrijamos: «me sucede», debería decir todo lector cada vez que habla— que la realización de esas ideas es muy sencilla, muy simple. No burda, pero simple. Tal vez el autor estaba buscando cuál era el límite del lenguaje claro y sencillo, dónde estaba la frontera que no querría cruzar.
No quiero decir que el lenguaje tendría que ser más complejo, que tendría que haber recursos acaso pasados de moda, sinónimos y demás (en todo caso eso sería decisión suya), sino que lo que los poemas acaban diciendo es simple de más; el propio mensaje, la propia realización de la idea.
Rescato, sin embargo —¿solo se rescata lo que está muriendo?—, algunos textos. «Amor, de tarde» (el que dice «Es una lástima que no estés conmigo / cuando miro el reloj y son las cuatro») y «Es tan poco», el musicalizado por Zitarrosa. También me marqué «Los pitucos», «Pobre Dios», y también rescataría «Dactilógrafo», que tiene un juego interesante en el que el yo lírico, mientras escribe una notificación de deuda, piensa y recuerda cosas de su infancia, que se intercalan con las expresiones de rigor.
Seguiremos con otros poemas de Benedetti en el futuro a ver qué más se encuentra.
July 8, 2025
It never would have occurred to me to write poetry about the monotony of working in an office but what a delightful idea. In "Office Poems" Benedetti creates poetry out of dull office meetings, payday, and being the new guy at work. Highlights for me from Office Poems were "Salary", "Afterwards" and "Love in the Afternoon."
From "Only in the Meantime", I loved the title piece and "Like An Ivy." Benedetti's writing is so natural and there's a lyrical quality to the them that the words seem to float off the page sometimes. This book was a comfort to read and study, even if I didn't grasp all of the references and it made me want to read more poetry!
From "Only in the Meantime", I loved the title piece and "Like An Ivy." Benedetti's writing is so natural and there's a lyrical quality to the them that the words seem to float off the page sometimes. This book was a comfort to read and study, even if I didn't grasp all of the references and it made me want to read more poetry!
January 17, 2021
Es increíble que diga esto, pero me costó horrores terminar este poemario de Benedetti, todavía no sé por qué. Tiene algunos poemas destacables, pero fuera de esos los sentí medio tediosos. Igualmente Mario sigue siendo uno de mis autores favoritos.
July 6, 2019
"siempre escribo pensando en el futuro pero el futuro se quedó sin magia"
December 11, 2019
Practicamente lo terminé en una tarde.
Me encantó, como cuenta las cotidianidades de la vida.
Justo por lo que estoy pasando.
Me encantó, como cuenta las cotidianidades de la vida.
Justo por lo que estoy pasando.
September 26, 2021
Interview
Ese voto
Padrenuestro latinoamericano
Ese voto
Padrenuestro latinoamericano
October 1, 2021
Flojo, muy flojo, un error la elección de ser el primer libro que leo de Mario Benedetti. Decepción.
March 5, 2023
4.5*
No puedo creer que este sea el primer poemario de benedetti que leo en mi vida espero que no haya hecho cosas cuestionables y pueda con tranquilidad decir he's just like me for REAL
No puedo creer que este sea el primer poemario de benedetti que leo en mi vida espero que no haya hecho cosas cuestionables y pueda con tranquilidad decir he's just like me for REAL
June 14, 2023
amor amor amor amor
December 7, 2023
me podría haber gustado más la verdad
April 17, 2024
q reseña ni reseña te amo benedetti <3 <3
July 5, 2024
Si sos alérgico a la pala —como yo— seguro te vas a asustar con "Poemas de la oficina", mientras que el segundo volumen del hoyporhoy alguno poemas son buenos, y hasta ahí no más.
July 9, 2024
El libro con el cual me enamoré de Mario Benedetti
October 8, 2024
interesante pero no es mi tipo de lectura habitual, no lo volvería a leer
December 26, 2024
Los que eran de dios medio que no los entendí pero había muchos con los q me reí o me saco una sonrisa
January 25, 2025
No salvo nada.
May 8, 2025
solo lo leí pq me lo pidieron en un taller de poesía jajaj😭
May 24, 2025
Da lo que el título promete.
Nada más. 🤷🏼♀️
Nada más. 🤷🏼♀️
Read
May 22, 2009Revisiting an old friend. Benedetti was recommended to me by a friend who saw that I liked Saramago and found their styles and subjects to be similar. She was right, though Benedetti has an efficiency of words that Saramago occasionally loses. Benedetti passed away this month and reminded me that this is a good time in my life to re-read his work.
From "God Willing"
I suffered like one suffers, very happily,
lying here on the land, almost uninhabited,
asking, not asking, letting myself be taken.
And God was present, or something like God
intentionally disenchanting my solitude.
Nevertheless now I'm surrounded
by the relatives in my deserted world:
the brother sky, the sister afternoon,
the pink cloud coming across the sky.
It's true, they surround me,
they appear on they appear on the landscape as if they're searching for me.
They are the molecules of the infinite God,
perhaps God himself or something like God
but they intercede between Him and I.
Don't forget me,
never
forget me
I won't be able to seize God,
God willing.
From "God Willing"
I suffered like one suffers, very happily,
lying here on the land, almost uninhabited,
asking, not asking, letting myself be taken.
And God was present, or something like God
intentionally disenchanting my solitude.
Nevertheless now I'm surrounded
by the relatives in my deserted world:
the brother sky, the sister afternoon,
the pink cloud coming across the sky.
It's true, they surround me,
they appear on they appear on the landscape as if they're searching for me.
They are the molecules of the infinite God,
perhaps God himself or something like God
but they intercede between Him and I.
Don't forget me,
never
forget me
I won't be able to seize God,
God willing.
January 7, 2017
Vino el patrón y nos dejó su niño
casi tres horas nos dejó su niño,
indefenso, sonriente, millonario,
un angelito gordo y sin palabras.
Lo sentamos allí, frente a la máquina
y él se puso a romper su patrimonio.
Como un experto desgarró la cinta
y le gustaron efes y paréntesis.
Nosotros, satisfechos como tías,
lo dejamos hacer. Después de todo,
sólo dice «papá». El año que viene
dirá estádespedido y noseaidiota
casi tres horas nos dejó su niño,
indefenso, sonriente, millonario,
un angelito gordo y sin palabras.
Lo sentamos allí, frente a la máquina
y él se puso a romper su patrimonio.
Como un experto desgarró la cinta
y le gustaron efes y paréntesis.
Nosotros, satisfechos como tías,
lo dejamos hacer. Después de todo,
sólo dice «papá». El año que viene
dirá estádespedido y noseaidiota
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews