The Poetry of Survival: Post-War Poets of Central and Eastern Europe (Penguin International Poets S.)

Rating:
Summary: outstanding
Review: Described by Michael Hoffman of "The Times" (London) on the back cover of the book as "the best anthology of modern poetry for thirty years," this book is now sadly long out of print and hard to find. Find it. Hoffman wasn't kidding, "The Poetry of Survival" is a truly amazing compilation of some of the greatest poets of the century (Celan, Herbert, Rozewicz) and many other fantastic Eastern/Central European and German poets who remain relatively unknown in the West (Vasko Popa, Ingeborg Bachmann, Anna Swir). This anthology concentrates mostly on Eastern Europe - several Polish poets especially - and also includes some German poets (Bachmann, Brecht) and Isrealis (Amichai). The theme is basically, "How have these poets chosen to respond to Adorno's declaration that to write poetry after the Holocaust is barbaric?" and the results are truly striking. Although necessarily dark, this is poetry at its most meaningful, a testament to the continuing importance of poetry as an art. The translations are first-rate (Felstiner's astounding translation of Celan's "Death Fugue" is included) and the selections used to represent each poet are particularly well-chosen ("Death Fugue," Amichai's "Tourists" and Rozewicz's "She Looked at the Sun" are a few of the most exemplary poems that come to mind). There are 28 poets represented in this anthology; none are slackers and most, if not all, are world-class. This is a truly exciting book - for anyone interested in poetry let me repeat: find it. At all costs. "The Poetry of Survival" truly puts in perspective much of the frivolous nonsense that passes for poetry in the West today.