THE OTHER VOICE: Twentieth Century Women's Poetry in Translation

by Joanna & Others--Eds. Bankier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 13, 1976

In an age of renewed interest in translation,"" says Adrienne Rich in her forward to The Other Voice, ""the women poets of the world have still lacked a real sense of each other's powers. Not just women who write poetry, but the state of poetry itself, and all who look to poetry for greater self-knowledge, have suffered from this ignorance."" Indeed, the great majority of the 80 poets collected here--writing in 31 languages, from Swedish and French to Afrikaans and Kiriwina, and representing every continent--have never been translated into English before. Some of them have: the dry intensity of Simone Weil, the love songs and historical poetry of Bella Akhmadulina, and, to a lesser degree, the work of Nelly Sachs and Violetta Parra, are accessible to the American poetry-reading public. But unless you read the few very small magazines committed to translation, it's likely you've never heard of others: Dahlia Ravikovitch, an Israeli who writes with chilling anger; or the accomplished Portuguese feminist and novelist, Maria Teresa Horta; or even Yosano Akiko, highly celebrated in Japan. Not all of the poets in The Other Voice are as skillful and as expressive as these; but a majority of the 130-odd poems are accomplished enough to render the pricking of our ignorance a very satisfying event.

Pub Date: Dec. 13, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION