Common to all the stories, however, are emotionally moving personal events-often, though not always, romantic-set against the backdrop of much larger political events such as wars and revolutions. The stories share few links except those derived from the use of a common geographical setting the only link between characters appears in the stories Brothers and Sisters and A Week in the Country, both of which deal with members of the Fabbre family (whose history is continued in the later story Unlocking the Air). Le Guin, most of them set in the imaginary country of Orsinia. (Jan.Orsinian Tales is a collection of eleven short stories by American writer Ursula K. In their own languages, the poets' magic shines, as in Bellessi's adventurous ''Cruising the Equator'' and Le Guin's ''Dos Poesias para Mi Diana,'' which divulges not only the title for the book, but the intimate nature of poetry and this collaboration. In ''The House of the Spider: A Spell to Weave,'' Le Guin states: ''They are together,/ the brother,/ no other.'' Bellessi changes ''no other'' to ''el humano,'' shucking Le Guin's specific to express her own wider concerns. you know, I would have made love to you.'' Bellessi, in turn, overpowers Le Guin's direct voice, at times transforming her meaning entirely.

sabias, que te hubiera hecho el amor?'' loses the poignant effect of the narrator's looking back at a youthful episode when Le Guin turns it into the statement ''You know, when I saw you in Paris. For instance, the question ''?Sabias/ cuando te encontre en Paris. In Le Guin's hands, Bellessi's internal rhythms are lost and words are stripped of layers of meanings.

The intrinsic value of this quirky edition lies in the bilingual presentation, for the two poets' success in reaching cross-cultural audiences is limited by their lack of expertise in translation.

Through correspondence, Le Guin, a prolific American writer (The Left Hand of Darkness Unlocking the Air and Other Stories, etc.), and Bellessi, an Argentinean poet, collaborated on translating each other's poems to produce this intimate exchange of language and culture.

Voices ursula le guin