The Pallikari of Nesmine Rifat (Paperback)

Paperback. In this sensuously defiant collection of new poems, the winner of the 2004 Grand Prix du Livre de Montreal expands and deepens a poetic ruse. In his critically acclaimed collections Saracen Island and Companion, David Solway took on the voice of a fictitious Greek poet named Andreas Karavis. The poems of these earlier two books were so artful and refreshingly immediate that many readers were convinced that they were authentic translations from the Greek. For The Pallikari of Nesmine Rifat, a new book of ostensible translations, Solway adopts the persona of Karavis's spurned lover, Turkish Cypriot poet Nesmine Rifat and explores the aftermath of one of Karavis's love affairs. Lushly sexual and sparkling with wit and intelligence, these passionate lyrics take the form of undelivered letters, written by Rifat in the wake of Karavis's desertion and his eventual marriage to her rival Anna Zoumi. Solway portrays, with subtlety and sensitivity, a powerful woman and gifted poet undergoing a turbulent emotional journey. Moving from wrath and arrogant disdain, through bitterness and grief, to an acceptance of the love she cannot subdue, his female poet grows in both strength and art. As an intimate record of one woman's anguish, The Pallikari of Nesmine Rifat is a remarkable achievement even more so when one recalls that the author is actually a man. For his celebrated poetry collection Saracen Island, David Solway took on the voice of a Greek poet named Andreas Karavis. So artful were these poems that many readers believed they were authentic translations from Greek by Karavis. The Pallikari of Nesmine Rifat continues Solway's inspired poetic ruse. In this new book of ostensible translations, he adopts the persona of Karavis's spurned lover, Turkish Cypriot poet Nesmine Rifat. Lushly sexual and sparkling with wit and intelligence, these extraordinary poems take the form of a series of undelivered letters, penned in the wake of Karavis's desertion and eventual marriage to Anna Zoumi. With great subtlety and sensitivity, Solway portrays a powerful woman and gifted poet undergoing a violent emotional journey?from explosive anger and arrogant disdain to bitter melancholy and undying passion. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…