Customer Reviews

Vasko Popa: Collected Poems

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Popa is one of the most amazing poets I have ever read. I am often skeptical about translations of Slavic poetry into English, but these are truly surpurb. Anne Pennington, the primary translator, worked very closely with Popa until her death in 1981 (in fact, the first poem is a tribute to her). She strove to communicate Popa's unique imagery and themes, not to hold on to rhythms and sounds solely belonging to the original. His poetry is metaphorically very complex, but as he oversaw nearly all of the translations, this volume is as good as you'll get without learning Serbian. I read about half of the 400-odd pages in one sitting. Absolutely wonderful.

I've read two translations of Popa's works. Some individual poems were in both collections. The other translation seemed far better--more poetic. It is called "Homage to the Lame Wolf" -- translated by Charles Simic. In fact the difference in the two translations for the same poem was virtually unbelievable. This one may have been more literal, I don't know, but it's far less satisfying and lyrical. The other seemed to better reflect the poet's feelings. I discovered Popa by listening to the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago audiotape, "The Yawn of Yawns: On the Psychology of Revelation--An Exploration of the Poetry of Vasko Popa" by Josip Pasic. The tape's catalog description states: "the work of te great 20th century Slavic poet...talks about the most basic geometry of the human mind--the archetype of archetypes." It's great. The translator has done a wonderful service to the English reading public.