Ada Negri, the author of ten volumes of poetry who enjoyed an international reputation for her frank and passionate writing, had a tormented love affair with a man whose life was cut short by premature death. She translated this experience into "The Book of Mara," in essence one long poem arising from a woman's most intimate place as if in a visceral scream - a most passionate expression of love, loss and redemption. Written with unusual frankness, especially in view of Italian society of the time, "The Book of Mara," along with "Songs of the Island," is considered the high point of Negri's...