Contemporary East European Poetry: An Anthology

Emery Edward George

Oxford University Press, 1993 - East European poetry - 490 pages

"This ambitious work has long been overdue....An excellent introduction to Slavic and East European poetry."--World Literature Today
Providing a unique window into a poetic tradition little known and little understood in the West, Contemporary East European Poetry features one hundred and sixty poets from ten countries, with works translated from fifteen languages. Emery George, himself a distinguished poet and translator, brings together over five hundred poems, expertly rendered into beautiful English verse by an international group of translators, often working in collaboration with the original authors. Represented are poets from many walks of life, contrasting religious and political outlooks and, most important, 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 elegant dramatic monologues alongside the free verse and mathematical experiments of a new generation. In these pages readers will find Nobel laureates (Czeslaw Milosz, Jaroslav Seifert), major poets (Peter Huchel, Vasko Popa), translators of global stature (Michael Hamburger, Ewald Osers), as well as poets virtually unknown in the West. And new to this edition is the work of thirty-two young poets representing eight distinct cultures and a whole new view of life in the former Easter Bloc. Also included are informative introducions to all selections and biographical sketches of each poet.
A gallery of poetic images, Contemporary East European Poetry is the only volume of this scope available. For lovers of poetry and literature interested in a rich tradition so long cut off from the world at large, this rich collection offers a wealth of insights and opportunities for discoveries.
"Praiseworthy....Offers exciting glimpses of poetic worlds still to be fully mapped."--The Times Literary Supplement

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - Michael.Xolotl - LibraryThing

Excellent for the most part. Some weaker poems and many I didn't like, but that's to be expected in an anthology this size. I suspect some of the translations weren't as good as they should be, but that's merely a suspicion--I have nothing to base it on other than gut feeling.

Contemporary East European poetry: an anthology

User Review  - Not Available - Book Verdict

This book originally appeared in 1983 in an Ardis Publishers edition. In this new edition, poet-translator George adds an "update'' section of 32 poets, all born since 1945 and not included in the ...

Contents

• YUGOSLAV: xxiii
• Acknowledgements: xxv
• Lalic: xxxiv
• Maris Caklais: xxxvii
• Introduction: li
• Uku Masing: 10
• IvarIvask: 24
• PaulEerik Rummo: 30
• Gunars Sarins: 43
• Imants Ziedonis: 59
• Henrikas Radauskas: 66
• Vytautas Bloze: 79
• Sigitas Geda: 93
• POLISH: 101
• Czeshw Mitosz: 107
• Tymoteusz Karpowicz: 116
• Miron Biatoszewski: 123
• Zbigniew Herbert: 133
• Wiktor Woroszylski: 139
• Ryszard Krynicki: 147
• EAST GERMAN: 153
• Peter Huchel: 160
• Johannes Bobrowski: 167
• Hanns Cibulka: 174
• Giinter Kunert: 177
• Heinz Czechowski: 185
• KurtBartsch: 191
• CZECHOSLOVAK: 199
• Vladimir Holan: 205
• Antonin Bartusek: 215
• Miroslav Valek: 228
• Agnes Nemes Nagy: 238
• Anna Hajnal: 242
• Otto Orban: 280
• ROMANIAN: 293
• Virgil Teodorescu: 304
• Ion Caraion: 319
• Marin Sorescu: 334
• Introduction: 349
• Slavko Mihalic: 361
• Aco Sopov: 367
• Lyubomir Levchev: 412
• Luchezar Elenkov: 421
• YIDDISH: 427
• Jacob Glatstein: 433
• Summer: 439

About the author

About the Author
Emery George is the author or editor of sixteen books, including seven collections of his own poetry and two volumes of translations of the work of Hungarian Poet Miklose Radnoti.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Contemporary East European Poetry: An Anthology; Oxford paperbacks
• Editor: Emery Edward George
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1993
• ISBN: 019508635X, 9780195086355
• Length: 490 pages