Canciones of Federico Garcia Lorca by Tobias Tak

​    There are some things that just go perfectly together like peanut butter and jam, or peanut butter and bananas or peanut butter and apples…basically lots of peanut butter things. And to that list one can now add Tobias Tak and Federico Garcia Lorca. A perfect pairing.
     To be fair, I’m not a huge poetry reader. Now and again I do try, but modern poetry doesn’t seem to work for me and I’ve not yet sampled all of the classics. And so this is my first experience with Lorca. It isn’t modern and yet it does have that timeless appeal, these short, dreamy poems of his.
     Tak came along and provided perfectly matched (in theme, tone and mood) art, from literal to imaginative interpretation of these lovely brief poems. And it just works so well together, it makes me think…maybe this is how poetry should be presented. The poems are provided in both English and their original Spanish, which was another bonus for all those wishing to stretch their linguistic muscles. I loved that, being able to compare the musicality of the rhythm and learn a new word or two.
      The entire reading experience was just excellent, a multilayered enjoyment seldom associated with poetry for me. I’d even say this is the sort of book to come back to and revisit. Something magically dreamy or dreamily magical about it. It sang for me. Recommended.