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Montale

Montale

Poems

Summary

Montale's incandescently beautiful poetry is deeply rooted in the venerable lyric tradition that began with Dante, but he brilliantly reinvents that tradition for our time, probing the depths of love, death, faith and philosophy in the bracing light of modern history. Montale's poems teem with allusion and metaphor but at the same time are densely studded with concrete images that keep his complex musings firmly tethered to the world.
Montale's reputation is international and enduring, and he has influenced generations of poets around the world. This volume contains selections from all his greatest works, rendered into English by the accomplished poet and translator Jonathan Galassi. It serves as both an essential introduction to an important poet and a true pleasure for lovers of contemporary poetry.

Reviews

  • Montale gave the Italian lyric a dissonant new music, a rapturous counter-eloquence. He is the Debussy of modern poetry, and in Jonathan Galassi's fresh translation ... the English-speaking reader is given clear access to a body of work that has a severe majesty.
    The New Yorker

About the author

Eugenio Montale

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