99 Poems in Translation

by Harold Pinter (Compiler), Anthony Astbury (Compiler), Geoffrey Godbert (Compiler)

Full of surprising juxtapositions and possessed of a gargantuan range of voices and styles, 99 Poems in Translation is a unique convergence of some of the world’s most beautiful poetry. The poets range from Anna Akhmatova to Yuan Chen, from Charles Baudelaire to Virgil, each of them translated into memorable English by such poetic luminaries as Ben Johnson, Elizabeth Bishop, and Robert Graves. Arranged alphabetically, this collection span centuries and continents.

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Harold Pinter was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964) and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1971), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993) and Sleuth (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and others' works.

Reviews

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprising anthology reflecting Pinter's eclectic tastes in poetry, taking us through various ages and regions and styles.

Truth be told, it's a little basic in comparison to some great poetry anthologies that got published in the past two decades. But enjoyable, definitely :)

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

an amazing collection, from pessoa's "in the terrible night," to du bellay's "antiquitez de rome," to breton's song to his wife with wood-fire hair, to celan's "deathfugue," this book is the one i pack in my backpack when i camp. mary loves pound's translation of li po's "the river merchant's wife: a letter," and i should ask hugh about the baudelaire translations here, since he has been reading baudelaire in his ap french literature class. here's rae dalven's translation of cavafy's "the city":

You said: "I will go to another land, I will go to another sea,
Another city will be found, a better one than this.
Every effort of mine is a condemnation of fate;
and my heart is----like a corpse--- buried.
How long will my mind remain in this wasteland?
Wherever I turn my eyes, wherever I may look,
I see black ruins of my life here,
where I spent so many years, destroying and wasting."

You will find no new lands, you will find no other seas.
This city will follow you. You will roam the same
streets. And you will age in the same neighborhoods;
and you will turn gray in these same houses.
Always you will arrive in this city. Do not hope for any other----
There is no ship for you, there is no road.
As you have destroyed your life here,
in this little corner, you have ruined it in the entire world.

[Kam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am never quite sure how to rate poetry books, especially when each poem is written by a different person, because they are all so different and unique. However, I really liked this poetry book in particular for this very reason, and for the fact that each poem in the collection made me think. I wish I could read each poem in its original language and somehow also be fluent in that language, so I could understand the nuances and tones that perhaps the translators didn't pick up on or that they weren't able to put into the translation accurately. I would definitely read this again, because the variety of poems meant that everything was new and I think I would pick up on things that I missed the first time around.
Overall, 3.75/5 stars.

[Ruby Paustian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of poems was interesting to read. The poem selectors chose a wide array of poems from different times and cultures. I struggled to engage with the poems from BC and until the 19th century because the language has changed so much since then. My favorite poems were “The Measures Taken” by Erich Fried, “A Learned Mistress” by Isobel Campbell, and “The Vulture” by Aleksandr Blok. I recommend this book to people who have studied English and literature because it can act as a time machine back to the original literature.

[Steven Severance · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great anthology of poetry. For its size it is absolutely wonderful!
Yes, because the poems are selected by Harold Pinter, a few of them are brutal, and a few are political (mainly from the left) but there are many other types of poems here too. There are love poems and two poems from the bible, funny poems and weepers too. The dates range from the 7th century B.C. to the mid 20th century. The poets come from 29 different countries. So, yes, a huge breadth of poetry represented in a small book. Almost all of the poems though are of high quality. There are very few throw away poems here.

I highly recommend spending an hour or two with this book.

[Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to compare this book to the experience of walking through a gallery.

In a gallery, as you walk past countless paintings, some will grab your attention for their use of colour, some their theme and subject matter, some with their history and some with their mastery of skill and technique.

Akin to that, there are poems in this anthology that you will read and not look back on but some you will sit in front of and study, some you might recite out loud because of the beauty of their wording and some because they speak to a lonesome part of your heart.

[Vivienne Overstreet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great selection of poems. There is variety in both origin and subject. They jump from love to death to war to emigration to women to weather. It is very interesting, though I do wonder how many poems' tones would be different in their original language and how the translation alters them.

[Mejix · Rating 3 out of 5]

A selection that seems to emphasize poems with a kind of hard edge. Not much that is intriguing or evocative. Here and there some very good poems. Here and there some clever poems.

[SBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

High quality and very pleasant.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful poems!

[Jon Corelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting anthology and useful sampler

This unusual and interesting anthology collects poems from cultures around the world throughout history in English translations by poets from Elizabethan to modern times. It's of special value as a sampler giving an idea of various poetic traditions that might be worth further investigation. This book would be a good acquisition for anyone who has started getting into poetry and is looking for further types of it to read.

[Alain Fournier · Rating 5 out of 5]

99 Poems in Translation cover the period from 7th Century BC to now with authors from China or Japan to Europe or South America. Most of the translators are modern and easy to read. It is definitely one of the best anthology of world poetry and it has became one of my favourite. I would recommend this anthology to shy readers of poetry.

[Don Hackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice little anthology of poetry in translation. The translated poems are very good to touching in themselves, and serve as an introduction to 99 poets who wrote in languages other than English.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there is a guilty poetry pleasure -- this is the ticket!