This collection of poems explores the thin line between saint and sinner. The poet asks the reader to consider, “Who is the saint here? Who is the sinner?” A few well-known people appear in poems as well as a few genuine saints, but mostly the poems explore the saints and sinners and everyday folks that we meet each day on the sidewalk, at work, the mall or on TV.
The author collaborated with Mexican poet Fernando de la Cruz in recasting the poems in Spanish. With Cellini’s originals in English and in Spanish, de la Cruz created a third version. Sometimes these are faithful translations, but often they soar off the page and take on an identity of their own.
The poems are lean but, with a few pen strokes, Cellini creates sketches which suggest more than he writes. Impressions. Moments in time. Bits of humor. And de la Cruz has captured these same images in exquisite Spanish originals. The work as a whole, then, is a collaboration which will please readers of English, readers of Spanish, and bilingual readers will have a double delight.