This is the second international poetry anthology to be published in as many months. The first,
The Vintage Book of Contemporary World Poetry , is organized geographically. Milosz, who, naturally, appears in the
Vintage collection, has approached his work as anthologizer from a far more personal and thematic perspective. His introduction is passionate and enlivening as he guides readers toward his vision of poems as forms of enchantment, then his clustering of poems under such alluring headings as "Epiphany," "The Secret of a Thing," "The Moment," "People among People," "Woman's Skin," and "Nonattachment" deepens and extends the readers' understanding of his poetics and the poems he has so lovingly chosen. Milosz remains a vital presence throughout the volume. There are plenty of American poets here, quite a few Chinese poets, and a diverse scattering of Europeans, but place of origin isn't as significant, ultimately, as place of arrival: a poem that speaks to everyone in every land.
Donna Seaman
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From Library Journal
Nobel laureate Milosz states in his introduction that the purpose of this personal and eclectic collection is to present poetry that is "short, clear, readable, and...realistic, that is, loyal toward reality and attempting to describe it as concisely as possible." And for the most part, he has succeeded. The poems have a clarity and immediacy that would appeal to even the most poetry-averse reader. Most of the selections are from classical Chinese and 20th-century American and European (primarily Eastern European, Scandinavian, and French) poets. The poems are grouped by intriguing headings ("The Moment," "The Secret of a Thing," "A Woman's Skin"), and Milosz has written brief prefaces to many of them, creating an unusual sense of dialog between editor and reader. "My intention," says Milosz, "is not so much to defend poetry...but rather, to remind readers that for some very good reasons it may be of importance today." This refreshing and wise anthology is recommended for all collections.?Christine Stenstrom, Brooklyn P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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