The Book for My Brother by Tomaz Salamun

The Book for My Brother by Tomaz Salamun

This newest collection of poems from Tomaz Salamun is exuberant, ambitious, and full of surprises. Here the devil is encountered and understood-

I see the devil's head, people, I see his whole body . . .

he longs for innocence, as we do.

Here the poet juggles many tones, languages, and countries. Desire is evoked as both frustrating and exhilarating-

I'm watered by longing, knocking my

head into the wall, on the ground, or I burn, burn,

folded up on the couch.

And memory comes back to remind us of the laws and experiences of childhood-

Once again you are let loose in the sea

only after five o'clock in the afternoon to take

a dose of sunlight like the ticking of the clock.

At once daring and clear-voiced, The Book for My Brother is an extraordinary achievement.

What emerges when a master poet holds desire, memory, and innocence up to a surreal, unwavering light?

• Avant-Garde Vision: A singular voice that juggles languages and landscapes, from the banks of the Nile to the streets of New York, creating a vibrant, borderless world.
• The Sacred and Profane: Confrontations with devils, saints, and childhood ghosts where innocence and experience are held in a beautiful, startling tension.
• Poems of Raw Desire: An unflinching exploration of longing--sometimes a fire on the couch, sometimes a knock against the wall--that is both frustrating and exhilarating.
• Masterful Translation: Experience the power and playfulness of one of Slovenia's most celebrated poets, brought to life in a vivid and clear-voiced English translation.

Tomaz Salamun was born in the Croatian city of Zagreb in 1941 and reared in the Slovenian town of Koper. He has almost 40 books of poetry published in Slovenia, and is not just regarded as a key figure in the Slovenian poetic avant-garde, but also as one of Central Europe's finest contemporary poets. He moved to the United States in 1996 as the Slovenian Cultural Attaché in New York. till his death in 2014, on and off The Preseren Fund Award, the Jenko Prize, a Pushcart Prize, a visiting Fulbright to Columbia University, and a fellowship to the University of Iowa's International Writing Program are among his many awards.

He has also worked as the Slovenian Consulate's Cultural Attaché in New York. He has over twelve collections of poetry published in English, including THE FOUR QUESTIONS OF MELANCHOLY: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS (White Pine Press, 1996), BLACKBOARDS (Saturnalia Press, 2004), POKER (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2007), THERE'S THE HAND AND THERE'S THE ARID CHAIR (Counterpath Press, 2009), and ON THE TRACKS OF WILD GAME (Counterpath Press, 2009). Almost 80 volumes of his poetry have been translated into more than 20 languages around the world.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780156032056
ISBN 10	0156032058
Title	The Book for My Brother
Author	Tomaz Salamun
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Year published	2006-04-03
Number of pages	108
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.