Of Gentle Wolves: An Anthology of Romanian Poetry

Poetry. Bilingual Edition. Edited and translated from the Romanian by Martin Woodside. Amidst a history of upheaval, from Roman subjugation to the fall of communism in 1989, Romania's fostered a persevering spirit and a strong poetic tradition. "Every Romanian is born a poet," goes a popular idiom, and OF GENTLE AN ANTHOLOGY OF ROMANIAN POETRY aims to bring the very best of the country's contemporary poets together in a single volume."This dedicated anthology is a dynamic and exciting reflection of the voices from contemporary Romania, led by transgressive poems by the father of Romanian surrealism, Gellu Naum. With a slightly different pitch of voice, and a slightly different angle of imagination, these poems offer a journey into the poetry you won't find elsewhere."—Valzhyna Mort"OF GENTLE the paradox of this book's title runs with artful power through every subsequent page. It's a vibrant, chaotic place these days, Romania, and its poets are working at breakneck speed to make up for decades—for centuries—of damage, repression, and silence. Here are Gellu Naum's lyric histories set alongside Chris Tanasescu's hyperactive polyphonies; here the 'helplessness' and 'home' of Angela Marinescu's urgent lyrics serve as counterpoint to the formal dignities (and indignities) of Leonid Dimov. But these juxtapositions are truly Romania ancient mountains-and-plains landscapes yielding to shattered urban hubs; endless political narratives of conquest and recovery; a language bearing the stamp of countless travelers-through from the Romans to the Turks and Russians. Martin Woodside has given us an astute new glimpse into the place. OF GENTLE WOLVES is the best introduction to recent Romanian poetry I know."—David Baker