Face Of Creation

anthology, tr Kessler

This anthology, a treasure trove of astonishingly original and memorable poems, affirms that poetry is a flourishing art form in Hungary. Evident throughout is a high level of craftsmanship, even as a diverse range of poetic voices are presented: the elegiac Sandor Csoori, the sarcastic Laszlo Kalnoky, the surrealistic Anna Kiss and the violent Laszlo Nagy. Hungary's troubled political history subtly informs and gives character, acting as an omnipresent foil for personal concerns both petty and grave. Kessler, a UCLA English professor and winner of the Hungarian PEN Memorial Medal for several previous translations, creates seamless, flowing renditions. Many of these poems have appeared in The Hungarian Pen, The American Pen, The Paris Review and other publications. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kessler has selected work from 23 contemporary Hungarian poetsthough only one, Imre Oravecz, was born after 1939, and such luminaries as Attila Jozsef, Miklos Radnoti, and Dezso Tandori are omitted. Nonetheless, these poets display a vitality and imaginative richness equal to any nation's. A unifying principle is response to the country's turbulent history ("I returned yet again to look Time in the eye the Seventies . . . /incredible that a real story with real characters should have happened here/ and even more incredible the golden days of the country's postwar creativity"), from Otto Orban's stylistic exuberances to Sandor Csoori's haunting lyrics, from the elegance of Gyula Illyes and Laszlo Nagy to the versatility of Sandor Weores. Like his Hungarian counterparts, the Yugoslavian Lalic has forged a poetry distinct from the socialist realism of Eastern Europe. Lalic is a major poet in the classical tradition, yet one whose idiom, rhythms, and style are uniquely his own. Simic includes 22 of the 31 Melisa sonnets, love poems of transforming beauty and power reminiscent of Rilke ("Like your name, Melisa, which opens its leaves in my blood/ Into rustling of a miraculous tree"). A poet of astonishing imagery, Lalic's major subject is "a search for origins." What unifies the past and present is the "possibility" of his task: "Say bread to the bread, wine to the wine,/ And to the loved woman: I love you." Highly recommended. Robert Hudzik, P.L. of Cincinnati & Hamilton Cty.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.