POEMS FROM ITALY

by William Jay -- Ed. Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 21, 1972

A representative though unadventurous anthology of Italian poetry ""two thirds. . . from the period before 1700"" and including no poem by anyone born after 1914 (though Smith claims to have included a ""generous selection of contemporary poetry"" he is referring to poems by Quasimodo and his generation). No quarrel can be made with Smith's choices; however, it is doubtful whether anything in their presentation -- except possibly the forthcoming illustrations -- will attract younger readers than these works might otherwise find The rarefied introduction will be beyond the comprehension of most teenagers. Both the original Italian and English versions are included, but many of the translations -- by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the Earl of Surrey, Longfellow, etc. -- are quite old. These same criticisms applied to Poems from France (1967) and where that found an audience Poems. from Italy will be equally serviceable.

Pub Date: May 21, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: T. Y. Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION