TECHNICIANS OF THE SACRED

Primitive means complex...where poetry is concerned"" asserts compiler-editor Rothenberg, who has chosen the poems here not for their ""prettiness"" or innocence or nobility but for their strength in the original and in translation. From his experience at the Poet's Hardware Theater and the Cafe Metro in New York, he delineates modern-primitive associations which give rise to his ""Book of Events"" section. Texts also appear under topics: Origins & Namings, Vision & Spells, Death & Defeat; in geographical settings: Africa, Asia, America, Oceania. The texts range from Chinese picture poems to Quechuan laments to the graphics of Arnhem erotic poetry. Statements on poetry; commentary. A resourceful, fresh collection.