Voceis PyrenaeiRoberto González de Cuenca
Cover of Voceis Pyrenaei: on an ivory background, two stone figures shaped like women face each other in the mountains, their hands almost touching; above, the title in large black letters and, below, the name Roberto González de Cuenca

Poetry · Spanish and French

Voceis
PyrenaeiSpain and France, two voices in a single valley.

Thirty-nine sonnets in which Spanish and French meet within a single line, with titles in Latin, the language both were born from.

A bilingual collection that opens with Antonio Machado's last line and turns the Pyrenees into a meeting place, not a border.

Now in our shop, in print and as an ebook

Print · €17 Ebook · €6.50

Roberto González de Cuenca · Grupo Dauro · ISBN 979-13-992927-7-0

Praefatio · ad Antonio Machado

Estos días azules y este sol,
de l’enfance claire, bel âge violet, arcane.

The book opens with the last words Antonio Machado wrote, found in his coat pocket in Collioure in 1939, shortly after he crossed the Pyrenees. The poet continues them in French.

01

The book

Two grandmothers, two ladies, two nations, watched over by a pair of chestnut trees in the Pyrenees. Acrostic sonnets, little ballads and two hidden treasures.

 02

The author

Philologist, novelist and poet. He has taught French in Madrid for twenty-six years and has lived his whole life between two languages.

 03

Press

Front cover and full cover in high resolution, author portrait, review copy and interview topics.

The book

Two languages
in a single line

Two grandmothers, two ladies, two nations, watched over by a pair of chestnut trees deep in the Pyrenees.

With a highly personal style, a rhythm in which you can feel the music and a transgressive theme, Roberto González de Cuenca presents Spain and France in an utterly new poetic duality: a series of acrostic sonnets in both languages, with titles in Latin. He plays with the metre on both sides of the mountains and digs out poetry even from the titles themselves. He unearths treasures, revisits history and stages a clash of customs that only a philologist at home in both cultures could pull off.

The idea was born in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, on the French side of the Pyrenees, the last summer before the pandemic.

Buy What's inside →

Details

TitleVoceis Pyrenaei
AuthorRoberto González de Cuenca
GenrePoetry
LanguagesSpanish and French, with titles in Latin
PublisherGrupo Dauro
Format15 × 21 cm · paperback with flaps
Pages72
ISBN979-13-992927-7-0
Legal depositGR 1530-2026
Retail price€17

What's inside

A collection
you read twice

Every piece has a hidden second life: the acrostics yield further lines, little ballads grow out of the sonnets, and the titles, read in sequence, form a poem of their own.

Author's note

In Spanish and in French

How and where the book was born, told by the author in both languages.

Praefatio

Ad Antonio Machado

A sonnet dedicated to his poetic touchstone, opening with the last words Machado wrote in Collioure.

I – XXXIX

Thirty-nine sonnets

From Reginae to Ne cubes: each sonnet fuses Spanish and French and bears a Latin title.

Acrostics

Lines within the lines

Acrostic sonnets in two languages: the initial letters, read from top to bottom, hide another phrase.

Petites romances

The little ballads

From the acrostics the author drew still more poetry: a set of little ballads that close the sonnet cycle.

For the attentive reader

Two hidden treasures

Two word-search puzzles, with the solution at the end of the book… written backwards.

Look inside

The first pages

Very soon you will be able to browse the first pages of Voceis Pyrenaei here, exactly as they go to print.

We are putting the finishing touches to the layout: the Praefatio to Machado, the first sonnets with their acrostics, and the little ballads.

Tell me when it's out →
Roberto González de Cuenca, smiling, in a white shirt, seated in a yellow armchair in front of a bookcase

Roberto González de Cuenca.
Madrid, 1968.

The author

Roberto González
de Cuenca

He has taught French in Madrid for twenty-six years and has lived his whole life between two languages.

A philologist, novelist and poet, he read sonnets in the Puerta del Sol during Spain's 15-M movement, and those days gave birth to El Padre que escupía Sonetos en un Periódico (2011).

He is the author of the novels Las Tres Astillas, runner-up award of Spain's National Sports Council, and El Príncipe que apagó las Luces.

A former stage actor, he still plays football, for as long as his bones allow.

Works

  • Voceis Pyrenaei Poetry · Grupo Dauro, 2026
  • El Príncipe que apagó las Luces Novel
  • El Padre que escupía Sonetos en un Periódico Poetry · Poesía eres tú, 2011
  • Antonio Machado y sus días azules, international tribute competition 2011
  • Las Tres Astillas Historical novel · ECU, 2006 · Runner-up award, Spain’s National Sports Council

Buy

Where to get it

In our shop, in print and as an ebook. On Amazon and in the ebook stores, in a few days.

In print

€17

72 pages · 15 × 21 cm · paperback with flaps · VAT included

On sale now in our shop; we will send it to your door. On Amazon, coming soon.

Buy in print

Ebook

€6.50

EPUB · for Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and any e-reader · VAT included

On sale now in our shop. On Amazon and in the ebook stores, coming soon.

Buy the ebook

Bookshops

Order it from your bookshop

In Spain, any bookshop can order it from its usual distributor using the ISBN. Note down this number and give it to your bookseller:

979-13-992927-7-0

Distributors: Logista (via Lantia) · Azeta, Arnoia, Distriforma and Elkar (via Quares).

Press

Press
materials

The author is available for interviews, readings, book launches and book-club meetings. Grupo Dauro provides review copies exclusively to accredited media.

High-resolution images

Front cover, full cover with flaps and spine, and author portrait.

Front cover ↓ Full cover ↓ Author ↓

Review copy

Exclusively for accredited media. It is sent free of charge in digital format: just request it, stating your outlet.

Request →

Readings and launches

Bookshops, Instituts Français, Alliances Françaises, cultural centres and book clubs: the author can read the poems in both languages.

Arrange one →

Five interview topics

01Writing a sonnet in two languages at once: how Spanish and French merge in a single line without breaking the metre of either tradition.
02Bilingual acrostics, hidden ballads and word searches: poetry as play and as craft.
03Antonio Machado, Collioure and his last words: the starting point of the book and of the poetry competition the author organised in his honour.
04The Pyrenees as a meeting place rather than a border: two countries, two languages and a shared Latin root.
05A French teacher who writes poetry: the language learned, the language taught and the language one lives in.

Contact

Let's talk
about the book

Reservations, release alerts, interviews, review copies, readings and launches, book clubs and translation rights.

PublisherGrupo Dauro · Granada
Emailinfo@grupodauro.com
Phone+34 958 281 183
WhatsApp+34 640 91 90 90
Websitewww.grupodauro.com

Your details are used only to reply to you and are never passed on.