This outstanding new translation brings a uniformity of voice to Zbigniew Herbert's entire poetic output, from his first book of poems, String of Light, in 1956, to his final volume, previously unpublished in English, Epilogue Of the Storm. Collected Poems: 1956-1998, as Joseph Brodsky said of Herbert's SSelected Poems, is "bound for a much longer haul than any of us can anticipate." He continues, "For Zbigniew Herbert's poetry adds to the biography of civilization the sensibility of a man not defeated by the century that has been most thorough, most...

German poet Rainer Maria Rilke(1875-1926) enjoys ever-increasing popularity. His Duino Elegies is considered on of the greatest long poems of the twentieth century. Yet translations from his native German have always presented challenges: the elusiveness of Rilke's imagery, the playful way he both distorts and subverts his own language, and the depth and complexity of his poetry make it difficult for translators to preserve the beauty and meaning of the original text. In his stunning bilingual selection that includes the entire Duino Elegies as well as a number of...

Arguably the greatest Greek lyric poet, Pindar (518-438 B.C.) was a controversial figure in fifth-century Greece--a conservative Boiotian aristocrat who studied in Athens and a writer on physical prowess whose interest in the Games was largely philosophical. Pindar's Epinician Odes--choral songs extolling victories in the Games at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea and Korinth--cover the whole spectrum of the Greek moral order, from earthly competition to fate and mythology. But in C....

Jean de la Fontaine popularized some of our most loved proverbial tales, including "The Hare and the Tortoise" and "The Hen Who Laid Golden Eggs," transforming the world's great fables into charming works of astonishing originality, wit, and verve. James Michie's earthy translations capture the friendly brio, nimble comedy, and jaunty wisdom of the original. Black-and-white line drawings by J. J. Grandville introduce each fable.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the...

In this new bicentennial edition, acclaimed poet and translator Brooks Haxton offers an exquisite selection of Hugo's finest work: love poems, historical tableaux, elegy,...