Exquisite Corpse

EXQUISITE CORPSE, the sixth poetry collection by renowned Chilean poet Malú Urriola (1967–2023), translated by Elena Barcia, showcases Urriola's intensely personal and innovative voice. Oscillating between deep self-reflection and playful Dadaist influences, these poems dive into the emotional intensity of memory—whether through vivid sexual encounters or profound personal grief—often morphing into surreal, imaginative leaps. Her work brims with allusions to music, literature, and the natural world, deeply exploring what it means to live and think as a poet in the modern world. As Urriola writes, her aim is "to navigate the instant, to delay its departure a while, fine-tuning the ear of the eye in that brief journey of presence." Inspired by Dadaism's embrace of unpredictability, Exquisite Corpse breaks from traditional poetic form, blending graphics, shape poems, aphorisms, philosophical reflections, and free-form meditations on poetry itself. Her thoughts spiral and loop like jazz riffs, crafting a richly layered reading experience. Wry, intelligent, and moving, the collection delves into themes of urban life, academic arrogance, female sexuality, existentialism, and the beauty and solace found in nature, music, and poetry.