Juan Gelman is Argentina's leading poet, but his work has been almost unknown in the United States. This book features the lush and visceral poetry for an English-speaking readership. It is a stark witness to the brutality of power, and his poems reflect his suffering at the hands of the Argentine military government.
"At last, a marvelous translation into English of the soulful and celebratory and heartbreaking words of Juan Gelman, one of Latin America's most extraordinary poets."-Ariel Dorfman, author of Death and the Maiden
"Perhaps the most admirable element of [Gelman's] poetry is the unthinkable tenderness he shows where paroxysms of rejection and denouncement would be justified, or his calling upon so many shadows for one voice to lull and comfort, a permanent caress of words on unknown tombs."-Julio Cortàzar
"Gelman's poetry is epic in its scope-no corner of life goes unnoticed in this work. Here we find politics and history as seen through one vital human spirit. Rendered in a breathless style, this is the diary of a human heart in a rough world where artistry is the first salvation."-Oscar Hijuelos
"This selection of Juan Gelman's poetry introduces to an English-speaking readership the full range of Argentina's leading poet and a chief architect of Latin America's postcolonial social conscience."-Victor Perera, author of Unfinished Conquest: The Tragedy of Guatemala
"This is a voice that sings and makes others sing. It speaks of struggles and dignity: It offers a faith that springs from doubt and a sense of freeedom strengthened by prison walls. It celebrates life while standing in its very midst."-Eduardo Galeano, from the Foreword
