The "conscience" of Czechoslovakia during the Communist regime, Seifert (1901-86) was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1984. For over 60 years, he commemorated his native heritage and landscape. This important English translation presents four of his first works, his "most prolific and interesting literary endeavor," says translator Loewy, which include picturesque, sensuous poems that celebrate everyday life in Paris and Prague in the 1920s. Loewy argues that Seifert is largely unknown in English-speaking countries because until now his work has been ineffectively translated into English, with most translations lacking "the vividness and poetic quality" of the original. Loewy here aims for a more faithful rendering of these texts by not sacrificing "musicality, playfulness, and lyricism" to formal poetic modes?especially important for the early, less accessible poems. Recommended for international collections.?Frank Allen, North Hampton Community Coll., Tannersville, Pa.

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