Pastor de perros

Domingo de Ramos is one of the most controversial voices in contemporary Peruvian poetry. His unique use of the lumpen voice of Lima's urban underclass is perfectly suited to addressing the reality of the two decades of political violence and internal conflict that plagued Peru. In this sense, the verses of this collection allude both to the effects of that violence—such as blackouts, car bombs, assassinations, and extrajudicial killings—and to the subterranean world of drug addicts, pastry vendors, and vagrants who scavenged among the dumpsters on the streets of Lima during the 1980s and 90s.