The Colonnade of Teeth: Modern Hungarian Poetry
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\ Library JournalThese five books admirably demonstrate the diversity of international poetry; they have no common ground, except, perhaps, that they share an American publisher. Transtrmer and Enzensberger are translated (from Swedish and German, respectively), in crisp, powerful English. Transtrmer is probably the most highly regarded of poets in Sweden, enjoying a fine reputation worldwide, and his poems are widely available in English. This collection offers new work in a dual-language text that invites careful reading, and the English versions ring for what they are, pleasingly. Enzensberger's work is presented only in translation, but it doesn't seem likely that you will go wrong trusting translator Hamburger. Enzensberger is a product of Nazi Nuremberg, a disciple of Marx, and a wry, satiric, rogue with intelligence, who finds poetry in social criticism and a wide range of techno-scientific knowledge. The work collected in The Colonade of Teeth, an anthology of Modern Hungarian poetry, has been translated by many hands. How awful it is that we are not more familiar with these poets: Sandor Csoori, Miklos Radnoti, Agnes Nemes Nagy35 in all. All were born after 1900; Gyozo Ferencz, the youngest, was born in 1954. Hungarians have a national treasure in these poets, and this volume should shed a well-deserved light on their work. Bejamin Zephaniah is a Rasta poet, Jamaican playwright, and musician who writes for the page with an acute awareness of speech and sound. He slips in and out of idiom and dialect without losing either poise or rhythm. Dunmore employs a more measured line, a soft-stepping gait but is no less passionate. Her menagerie includes tigers, toads, and tortoises, as well as muggers and murderers. Her keen sense of story and lyrical voice will reward many readers. A varied assembly, then; there's something for everybody here. Recommended for international poetry collections.Louis McKee, Painted Bride Arts Ctr., Philadelphia\ \
