C.H.Sisson is one of the great translators of our time,' Jasper Griffin wrote in The Times Literary Supplement. 'Latin, French, German, Italian: there can have been few writers who have published translations of Virgil, Racine, Heine and Dante, in addition writing their own poetry.' In this volume the bulk of Sisson's poetic translations is included. A writer 'worth a place on the short shelf reserved for the finest twentieth-century poets' (The Times), Sisson occupies a unique place in English letters: his clear-eyed political and literary appraisals inspire writers and readers in a variety of disciplines. His translations are integral to his own poetry, often providing a bridge into new areas of activity. His Heine, Virgil, Lucretius and Dante are keys to his development, and major translations in their own right. The work included here, drawn from two millennia and several languages, is testimony of his open-eared endeavour over six decades.
