Providing a unique window into a poetic tradition little known and little understood in the West, Contemporary East European Poetry features one hundred and thirty poets from ten countries, with works translated from fifteen languages. Emery George, himself a distinguished poet and translator, here brings together over five hundred poems expertly rendered into beautiful, English verse by ninety translators, often working in collaboration with the original author. Represented are poets from many walks of life, contrasting religious and political outlooks, those working at home and in exile, and most importantly, poets who work in a wide variety of styles—from traditional forms to the most up-to-date experimental modes. Here are tightly woven Petrarchan sonnets and dramatic monologues alongside the free verse and mathematical experiments of a new generation. Preference is given throughout to the genuinely lyrical, to work that stresses the inventive use of language and the poet's tools and craftsmanship.
The years of the 1960s and 1970s, filled as they were with the winds of change—both in society and in art—constitute the heart of this volume. There are poets both young and old, living and, in some cases, recently deceased. Poets born before 1940 are featured next to senior figures whose first distinguished work may date as far back as the twenties and thirties, but whose influence and works remained central during the two decades on which the collection focuses. While most of the poems are appearing here in English for the very first time, all are freshly translated for this volume. Earlier English versions, when they exist, appear side-by-side with the newly translated poem.
There is no other volume available that even approaches the scope of Contemporary East European Poetry. For lovers of poetry and literature, and for those simply interested in a rich culture so long cut off from the world at large, it offers a wealth of insights and opportunities for discovery.
