In secret by Yannis Ritsos and translated by David Harsent

This is poetry from Greece.

In secret by Yannis Ritsos translated by David Harsent is published by Enitharmon Press. This is a Book originally written in Greek. This was published in 2013.0 and has the ISBN of 9.781907587214E12.

Yannis Ritsos’s In secret, translated from Greek by David Harsent, feels like a book organized around secrecy, interior survival, and the lowered voice of lyric. That does not mean the poems should be treated as illustrations of a theme. Better to approach them as moments of speech, records of whatever made language necessary. For a reader new to this poet, I would suggest beginning with the first image that creates a physical reaction: surprise, discomfort, tenderness, recognition, even refusal. The translation brings poetry from poetry connected to Greece into English while preserving the sense that some meanings should remain a little restless. In secret belongs on the shelf because it trusts poetry to do more than explain. It lets language alter the room around the reader.

If you’d like to see international poetry continue and gain traction, consider requesting this work from your local library, or purchasing it from places like Open Books (a poetry only bookstore), Asterism Books (an independent press distributor), or bookshop.org to connect you with your local bookstores.

Check out more of the always in-progress translated poetry index here.