This collection of thirty poems may be compared to the critical essays that have made Venclova famous. Venclova's major poetic accomplishment is his linking of intimate experience and historical incident in poems that are intensely contemporary at the same time as they reach back to the ethnic roots of an entire generation. Diana Senechal's deft translation from the Lithuanian - done in collaboration with the author - preserves both Venclova's lyric voice and the complex stanzaic patterns for which his poetry is known in his native country. Featuring an insightful introduction by the late...

Venclova's poetry addresses the desolate landscape of the aftermath of totalitarianism as well as the ethical constants that allow for hope and perseverance. In this book we find a figure of a poet returning from exile, surveying what has occurred, what buildings still stand, and the fates of loved ones.

Niemand kann behaupten, da Vilnius ihm allein gehrt. Die schier phantastische Verschmelzung von Sprachen, Religionen und nationalen Traditionen in einer Stadt, die politische Grenzen ignoriert, fiel Neuankmmlingen immer ins Auge, whrend ihre Bewohner meinten, da es gar nicht anders sein knne.Geschichte, Geographie, persnliche Erinnerung und politische Reflexion souvern miteinander verbindend, zeichnet der litauische Lyriker und Essayist ein Bild seiner Stadt, die wie kaum eine zweite fr das Gelingen und Scheitern deseuropischen Traumsstehen kann.