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Citation: Campbell, I. 2017. 
Lembah Elqui / Valle de Elqui 
/ Elqui Valley. PORTAL Journal 
of Multidisciplinary International 
Studies, 14:1, 13-16. http://
dx.doi.org/10.5130/portal.
v14i1.5357

ISSN 1449-2490 | Published 
by UTS ePRESS | http://portal.
epress.lib.uts.edu.au

PORTAL Journal of 
Multidisciplinary 
International Studies 

Vol. 14, No. 1  
April 2017 

Abstract
The three versions of Ian Campbell’s poem about Valle de Elqui (in Chile) presented here 
comprise a poem he first wrote in Spanish, then in English and finally in a more powerful 
version in Indonesian, which was first published in 2012 in the literary pages of the 
Jakarta mass media daily Kompas. Campbell regards this whole process as emblematic 
of his explorations in trilingual poetics, namely what does a ‘concept’/poem idea look like 
if done in the three languages with which he has some degree of written knowledge or 
fluency: English, Spanish, Indonesian. This mirrors the ‘three-pronged’ title ‘Selatan-Sur-
South’ that he adopted for the collection of his poetry in PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary 
International Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2008. The Indonesian version, ‘Lembah Elqui,’ was also 
included in Campbell’s poetry and prose collection Tak ada Peringatan (Vivid Publishing, 
2013). In each version now the reference is to Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), Nobel Prize 
Laureate for Literature (1945), whose burial place lies in Monte Grande in the Valle de 
Elqui in northern Chile.

Keywords
Ian Campbell; Gabriela Mistral; Lembah Alqui, Chili; Valle de Elqui, Chile; Elqui Valley, 
Chile; trilingual aesthetics

CULTURAL WORK

Lembah Elqui / Valle de Elqui / Elqui Valley

Ian Campbell
Macquarie University

Corresponding author: Mr Ian Campbell, Honorary Research Associate, Department of 
International Studies, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia. ialuca@iinet.net.au

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5130/portal.v14i1.5357
Article History: Received 18/01/2017; Revised 14/03/2017; Accepted 15/03/2017; Published 
04/05/2017

Transitions and Dislocations, 
Curated Cultural Works Issue, 
Curated by Paul Allatson.

DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTEREST The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with  
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. FUNDING The author(s) received no  
financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

13

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Lembah Elqui, Chili
Lereng-lereng lembah melandai,
ke buminya;
garis-garis vertikal bergabung,
ke buminya.
suatu kuburan dikelilingi batu-batu,
sungai berbuih,
alirannya.

Gabriela Mistral pernah
mengajar di rumah sekolah
bekasnya;
bangku-bangku berdebu tetap;
sekolah sepi,
ketenangannya.

Lewat jendela saya melihat
daun-daun anggur,
tersinar cerah,
meluap-luap gula
putihnya.
di tengah batu-batu,
tersebar,
di bawah logam berat
matahari merahnya.

Lembah-lembah terjauh,
kepuisiannya;
kesunyian biru,
kepuisiannya,
batu menjelma ke dalam kata;
sorga dihancurkan,
kekosongan,
di bawahnya.
Dikuburkan
kepuisiannya;
batu-batu mendalam
menguning
di bawah pencelupan
sekarat matahari,
merahnya.

Campbell

PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1, April 201714



Valle de Elqui, Chile
cuesta empinada,
tumba rodeada por rocas.
rápido y blanco el río,
escritorio y pupitres antiguos
escuela Mistral.

uvas destinadas para pisco,
brillantes de azúcar
a través de las montañas,
metales pesados del sol,
patrimonio de todos,
sin excepción.

poesía de los valles lejanos
silencio azul,
piedras de palabras,
polvo de cielo,

poesía enterrada,
en rocas duras,
amarillentas por
el fuego rojo del sol.

Elqui Valley, Chile
Valley slopes angle down,
all verticals converge,
tomb surrounded by stone,
white river runs.

here Gabriela taught,
her old school house and
pupils’ dusty desks,
now for ever stilled.

through the windows
outside pisco grapes dazzle,
brim full of sugar amid
scattered rocks,
beneath the heavy metal of the sun.

Lembah Elqui

PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1, April 201715



poetry of the far valleys,
of the blue silence,
stone becomes word,
heavens pulverized
by the void below.

poetry is interred,
deep stone
yellows
under the dying red of the sun.

Campbell

PORTAL Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1, April 201716