Poetry Books

Leanne Hanson would be sheriff of all poetry. "Odd Verse Effects" is a stunning work of bold beauty. Not wishy-washy girly beauty dressed in pink, sipping tea from tiny cups and eating biscuits, but the kind of beauty that requires a muzzle, reigns, a riding crop, amd a sunset to be ridden off into. Ms. Hanson slices through many traditional poetic forms with aplomb and irreverence which provides stark contrast to Everestian pile of poetic dreck given to us by the many shlubs who call themselves poets, whether they're average-internet-joes or scholars. Every poem in this collection reverberates with the deeper truths real artists see in everything around them. From acerbic to gentle, from hysterical to dead calm, from sonnet to villanelle, Hanson's book is the modern wild mustang of verse. As a poet, I read this poetry and realized in my wildest dreams I will never write anything approaching her level of skill. Ms. Hanson is a master poet at the top of her game. As a man, I read this book I marveled at the layers of imagery, the depth of thought, and the human-ness. It is so incredibly accessible, that a person who does not love poetry will read it, understand it, and love this book. "Odd Verse Effects" isn't just a great book of poetry, it is a GREAT book. If you don't buy it, you're missing out on something special.

...and her name is Leanne Hanson. A self-described "passionate defender of the written word," Ms. Hanson suffers no foolish lovers of poetic pap in her first poetry collection, "Odd Verse Effects." Imagine a marriage of poetic tradition and modern day musings so remarkable that you'll say "I do" to reading it again and again. Imagine finally sating your hunger for irrepressibly intelligent verse topped off with spot-on irreverence and generous dollops of humor. Imagine how it feels to discover a contemporary writer whose work will leave you with one immediate regret: That you didn't order extra copies for everyone you know who has a passion for savoring the perfectly crafted word. Ms. Hanson gives true lovers of "real" poetry eighty poem's worth of reasons to believe that poetry is alive, thriving and saturated with potential and possibility.

Love her or Hate her, Leanne Hanson is a Force to be reckoned with in the World of Modern Poetry. Yeah... it sounds trite, but it's true. She has been a strong voice in On-line poetry forums for years and a strong advocate of poetry, poets, and poetics and an inspiration to many up-and-comers. This first printed edition of Leanne's is a welcome addition to any poetry library. Sometimes Classic, some times New... sometimes Neo Classic, she does it all with bite, care, whimsy, comedy, and occasionally cynicism, but always with a Masters touch and care for her craft. Leanne is a Writer and a Wrighter and a Writer's Wrighter. And you never know what odd verse effects she may have on you.

Leanne Hanson's skill with the written word is staggering. She has taken poetry and freed it from the dusty shelves with this vibrant and completely unique collection. Exceptionally well written, and at the same time exceptionally readable. There is so much to enjoy in every poem. With titles from "Solar Enigma (with fried eggs)" to the profoundly beautiful "Portrait of Oxygen" Leanne Hanson's skill sounds in every letter. If you buy just one book of poetry, make it this one. (AND the cover is gorgeous to look at!)

It's very rare in this age indeed to discover such a collection of poetry as this one written by the hand of Leanne Hanson; so finding Odd Verse Effects was a pleasure akin to finding a sapphire buried beneath desert sands. I've had the pleasure of workshopping with Leanne, and her flowing mythological images and sarcastic prose have, at various times, left me in tears, nodding thoughtfully, or laughing hysterically (but in a good way).

This collection contains some of her best work, and I have poured over her book again and again since it arrived on my doorstep. "Shadow Puppets" speaks against being so sure of knowledge that you make a fool of yourself. "Anchorage" speaks of musical poetry through ethereal images and rhythm, painting as vivid a word picture as that portrayed by any visual artist. "The Getting of Wisdom," one of my very favorites, pokes fun in the wittiest of ways. "Danu's Sorrow" is nothing less than a masterpiece. No matter how many times I read it, I cannot do so with dry eyes.

There are others -- Leanne writes equally well in un-metered prose as she does in traditional verse -- and every one is valuable. Her love for her craft shines through in the last few lines of "Essence":

"Not every love must spark and burn --
No purer love can be
Than one which dwells within the walls
Of perfect poetry."

If you like poetry at all, you must have this book. Its words will stray from your shelf and nestle in your brain. This is real poetry at its best.

This book is worth the read. If you like Homer. You will love this book. It is like an add on to Homer. I tell everyone I meet to pick this book up.
Easy to read. A wonderful story and written with such grace.

Lesa Trapp

By all the gods on Mount Olympus, I have never seen mythology presented so clearly! A poet is dictionary-defined as: a person of imaginative power and sense of beauty; one who presents a subject in a unique way. Marc Ladewig truly has the soul of a poet. My favorite lines, (and there are many) are:
"The strands of god run deep in mortal man
and in the stars and every blade of grass."
Marc has a way of making the gods and their times come alive in a fascinating and memorable way. This epic tale itself is a work of art, the pictures make it even easier to envision the story and the afterword is a wonderful reference tool as well. With the map, the family tree and the glossary of names and places, further study is certainly made much easier. After reading this book, even those who are not poetically inclined will want to read more. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R9ILUHVJXE75V Odysseus Bids Farewell to Calypso is a video with original musical introduction by the author.

I have loved the tales of Homer since a child; reading everything I could get my hands on in my school's library about the Trojan war and the wanderings of Odysseus. My life choices were influenced by my internalization of the warrior ethos found in Homer's immortal poems.

But the old stories grew stale, and I have been unable to get back into them in decades.... Till Marc Ladewig's amazing retelling of the Oddyssey!

This is indeed Homer for a new generation of modern readers. Marc writes in clear and understandable poetic-prose. He serves-up the epic myth in the style of Homer, trimmed of the "fat" that weighs pure translations down for modern readers.

I recommend this book to any reader of any age who thrills to the ancient tales or who enjoyed the film "Troy". But especially I hope this book is picked-up by educators, who will find this a fine piece of literature and a great tool for introducing young minds to the world of Homer. To the "fierce-bred" heroes of ancient Greece; to lovely nymphs and cleaver wives; and to mega-hearted Odysseus, doomed to wander the wine-dark seas before at last returning to hearth and home.

I was moved by this poetic, beautifully written story of one man's leaving home, then yearning and striving to return. In it's rhythmic style, it's wonderful to read and has something for everyone; love, war, family, struggle and adventure! Give it a try...

This is an excellent translation that reads like a smooth novel.

The thing that attracted me to this particular version of the Odyssey by Homer was obviously the translation by T.E. Lawrence (i.e.: T.E Shaw) - yes that Lawrence of Arabia. Apparently he carried a worn copy around for four years on his person and eventually produced this translation of the famous epic adventure. According to various Odyssy scholars this 1930 period translation remains important: "for it was the first translation which succeeded in offering both the spirit and the narrative of the Greek original".

There are a number of things about the book worth noting. The first is the introduction by Lawrence to his work. It is just a four page introduction but it makes one nervous since his writing seems to be in the William F. Buckley style where writers use complicated phrases and words to impress the reader or entertain themselves but make the whole reading experience somewhat opaque. But fortunately that disappears in the translation itself.

The translation is clear and highly readable like a Tom Clancy or Jack London novel or similar. The words just flow along and the 400 pages quickly pass by. It is an interesting and entertaining story and this translation is well executed.

Not being a Greek scholar or similar I found the first 10 pages or so slow going since I was not familiar with all the different Gods - such as Zeuss, Poseidon, etc and how these all came into play. But once that is absorbed, the story is like any other novel - but here of course the ancient tale of the trip by Odysseus home to Ithaca after battles in Troy, and his son Telemachus and his wife Penelope who stayed in Ithaca. It is the epic story of fights with Cyclops, the Goddess Athene, daring sea voyages, great feasts, singing, and many close calls with death.

A superb story that has lasted through the ages.
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This was my first attempt at Homer and I have to say, Mr. Lawrence's translation worked for me.

T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) is an interesting person by his own right, and as the Introduction alludes to, we get his 'voice of experience' atop Homer's sublime poetry. If there is such a phenomena as 'Two birds with one stone,' this would have to be a good candidate for demonstrating same.

I am convinced by my own experience (as out of favor as it may be), that study of the Classics can be a Life Enhancing, and this book was essentially my first foray into this Truism.

Hope you find this review helpful.

T.E. Lawrence (the English officer who brought together the various peoples of the Arabian peninsula against the Ottoman Empire during World War I; better known as Lawrence of Arabia) called the epic poem "The Odyssey" by the Greek poet Homer "the oldest book worth reading for its story, and the first novel of Europe". The tale of King Odysseus, struggling to return to his home of Ithaca and his family after the Trojan War, is one on par with the finest of contemporary fantasy. Combining as it does a sprawling saga of a ten-year adventure with such fabulous creatures as the Cyclops Polyphemus, the hideous man-devouring Scylla, and the lethally-alluring Sirens with many of the gods of the ancient Greek pantheon (Athene, Poseidon, Calypso, Hermes, and others besides), one can even today marvel at its author's imagination and ingenuity. Then too there is the rich humanity of its mortal characters; the cunning Odysseus, his virtuous wife Penelope, his stalwart son Telemachus, the boorish suitors of Penelope, Eurymachus and Antinous, the august king Menelaus, and a great many more. It is a heady mixture. Lawrence's prose translation is written with a lyrical, romantic deftness. It harkens back to the high epic stories of Sir Walter Scott. But Lawrence never minimizes the sometimes brutal craftiness of Odysseus, nor his casual unfaithfulness to his wife, nor yet his still tender yearning for her and his son. And Lawrence glories in the ancient Greek tradition of "manly tales, manfully told", both in the novel itself and in Odysseus's recounting of his journey to his benefactors. Here indeed is a true flavor of those olden times. As wild and magnificent today as it was 2,500 years ago, "The Odyssey", in whatever form it takes, is still a story by which all other tales of fantastic adventure can be measured.

I have read the Odyssey several times in several translations, and this one, by the famed "Lawrence of Arabia" is the best of them all. No other translation that I have read makes this classic more readable and more enjoyable. Some translations plod, and obscure the excitement of the original, this one turns it into a real page-turner. If you've never read Homer and wonder which of the many translations to read, this is the one; I can recommend no other to introduce "newbies" to the classic world of epic fantasy and adventure.

I hesitated in buying this translation of the Odyssey having grown up with verse translations, most notably that of Fitzgerald. A prose translation somehow put me off; it seemed like the very meaning of Homer's words would be rendered into something different. One day, I read about the translation that T. E. Lawrence had made and, intrigued, I decided to read it for myself. I was very glad that I did.

Lawrence made his translation with an eye for the details and color of the text. He claimed that his experiences in the war in Arabia helped him to understand the writer of the Odyssey, and I think this did aid him in his approach to his translation. The introduction to this printing of Lawrence's translation provides an interesting comparison to another widely used prose rendering of the Odyssey, and one can instantly discover how much more vivid and faithful Lawrence is to the original. So, Lawrence's Odyssey is a translation I will return to in my future reading of this classic tale.

Neruda, a gifted poet, nobel prize recipiant times two, shares his thoughts and feelings by the sea in this peaceful and sensual collection. What a captivating, romantic collection of poems. Usually I dislike "greatist hit" style books, but this collection of poems easily provides a well rounded, description of Neruda's talents. The artistry illustrated is beautiful and more than adequetly translates the feel of the book. The book is printed in spanish and english translation provided by Alastair Reid, his favorite and preferred translator. I encourage all, whether poetic novice or expert to pick this book up, especially if you are a romantic at heart.

The coast of California, where Mary Heebner lives, is so parallel in its geography, blueness, and diverse forms of the shores from rocks to cliffs to wide sand to Neruda's mar at Isla Negra where he'd look out at that same Pacific ocean to form his poems. Mary is able to capture that intrinsic beauty of his sea and his poetry in this wonderful book of art. And you could ask for no better translator than Alastair Reid. Neruda loved how he'd walk barefoot all around his house and the beach at Isla Negra barefoot. And he loved his translations, as do I. Neruda said that "to me, the ocean is an element like air." This book of his poems about his sea, combined with the sublime blues of Mary Heebner's art, makes for such a great book for your coffee table, or as a gift, as I have given it now to six different people.

--Mark Eisner, editor of The Essential Neruda: Selected Poems

I love Pablo's poetry. I didn't think it was possible for the art to be as beautiful as the poetry. But it is.

Of all the Neruda anthologies that I have read, this is by far the most eloquent tribute to his love of the sea and his home on Isla Negra in Chile.

The English translations are done by Alastair Reid, Mr. Neruda's favored translator and it flows as naturally as does the Spanish original. I speak both languages and it is always such a pleasure to see a translation so elegantly done.

The artwork by Mary Heebner is as sumptuous as Pablo Neruda's poetry and truly reflects the feel of the ocean. Her paintings capture the mood of each poem perfectly and add to the emotion of his words.

It is I believe the only anthology that has focused solely on his poems of the sea.

The book is bilingual with the text in Spanish on one page and English on the other. It contains my favorite of Neruda's poems, The Soliloquy of the Waves.

Even the typeset and Neruda's name on the dust jacket painted in a blurry sea blue reflect the ocean that the poems are about.

Pablo Neruda has been a favorite poet of mine for many, many years and this stunning book is a wonderful addition to my collection of his anthologies. It is a beautiful piece to celebrate his centenary.

The poetry in this book is exquisite. The presentation is excellant. I own a copy of it, myself, and bought three more to give as gifts.

The One and the Many by Eric Charles LeMay is a startling collection of writing that challenges the boundaries between poetry and prose. In the poems proper, the reader is submitted to a painfully beautiful, and yet enigmatic, confession of a lost innocence, a paradise lost, which is however glimpsed only through the current veil of clever imagination. The themes often surround the inseparability of God and procreation, piety and perversion, serenity and severity. Often the heaviness is balanced with a playfulness and a pleasure in savoring the words which bear sometimes unbearable messages. The book is punctuated by miniature plays, amazingly original characters who suffer implied but humorously articulated fates. A fascinating book.

You really don't ever find books like this one! The One in the Many is terrifically intelligent, deeply felt and moving, beautifully imagistic, and above all, written in poetry that reminds you why you started loving words in the first place. Unlike most current poetry, which seems to have one character, one voice, and one tale to tell, this book seems to build a whole world of characters, from all across time, from the imagination as well as reality. Yet instead of feeling disjointed or impersonal, the result becomes so human that you feel as though the poems were some realization of your own dreams and nightmares, visions and past, told in symbols and sinuous language. We all have seen characters like "Pester" on the street, but Eric Lemay gives them full lives and distinct voices. And through the voices of his tale-tellers, the philosophers, the androgynous Eve, rings this great sense of humour and appreciation of life in all its twists and bizareness. Read this book if you want a new sense of our strange/magical world, and of poetry, and all the real power it still has today in writers like this one!

if lemay's debut is just one in the many, them i'm lucky to have found this needle in the haystack. though the pages are few, the words are monumentous. each poem, play or short prose piece is a pleasure to read -- and you will have to read them again and again to catch each clever line and idea. but rereading (and i recommend reading aloud) only makes you appreciate lemay's writing even more. lemay is a talent -- i can only hope that his "one in the many" will not be the only one he publishes.

This is such a strange and wonderful collection. The best pieces offer a vision of humanity that makes one feel unclean yet blessed at the same time. And that's what I love about it. After all, as Prado says, what is Poetry if not God's face touched by the brutality of things? LeMay plays language with devilish wit and angelic charm. His words seduce; they sing. Read this! You will fall to your knees; you will see stars.

The One in The Many creates a world in parables. LeMay flees past the quotidian spaces and places most people and even poets inhabit, to depict instead the shadowed and fantastic realms of dream, intellect, and imagination. From these heights, and from their corresponding nightmare depths, the poet draws characters at once sooty and sublime. In prose, in prophesy, yet above all, in Poetry, the book subtly imagines the cruelties these characters inflict, suffer, and ignore, while yet suggesting the deep beauty that characterizes our "Present Time, Which is the End of the World." For through Lemay's poetic vision, we Many-the odd, the old, the silly, and the selfish-do indeed become One, transfigured together, in the book's closing image, "in a brilliant, blinding light."

No wonder Mr. Greene won Japan's highest award for Haiku written in English. He is a most original thinker.

The pages of this original book are filled with very simple, yet very profound insights. You will want to read and reread The Open Gate.
It is a valuable road map to life's many ups and downs. A very thoughtful gift for people going through different stages of life -- from graduation to retirement.

Wonderful, inspiring book, which you'll want to read and reread. I bought it at San Francisco's Japanese Tea Gardens and am recommending it to friends of all ages and backgrounds.

If you're interested in philosophy, poetry, history and revealing insights into culture, The Open Gate is for you. This gem of simplicity contains some of the deepest observations into life and death, war and peace that you'll ever read. Everyone with a loved one in the army, and every veteran should read it.

The smallest literary form--haiku -- is at its best in this powerful book. If you've ever wanted to improve your writing or understanding of life, read The Open Gate. This haiku journal presents amazing imagery drawn from intensely careful observations. The poems evoke an enormous range of moods and emotions -- from compassion to awareness of temporality. Some reveal a sense of mystery, others reflect a Zen Buddhist influence. Some are witty or sarcastic, others, achingly sad. Haiku of this quality in English are very rare. J. C. Greene is a modern master. Reading his poems is like Basho's famous leaping frog, plunging into water, each brief poem expanding in ever-widening ripples.

The haiku in this wonderful book are profound. They made me think, cry, laugh and above all, feel. They go right to the heart. it is packed with brilliant, original observations about life.

The author is a wise philosopher. He sees and thinks clearly and feels a lot. Just 3 lines of his haiku contain observations that could take a 300 page book.

I'm going give The Open Gate to my friends and relatives. I haven't felt so touched by words since I first read Walden Pond or poems of Frost and Emily Dickinson.

Whether or not you've heard of haiku -- this witty little book is loaded with wisdom. It's spiritual, uplifting and timeless. Should be on every bookshelf.

I read this haiku to my yoga teacher:

"While each mind
Hosts a universe
Each soul waits alone."

When I answer my rebellious teenager, I think of this haiku:

"Saying no
By describing the limitations
On Yes."

Whenever I visit my ill friend, I remember this:

"Pain is the screen
Through which truth
Can be seen."

This is a charming, humorous and educational book. The language is appropriate for the intended audience and the illustrations are beautiful. Especially nice was the introduction of a female as conductor (in a male dominated profession), the fact that the book is based on a real conductor and the interactive question and answer exercise, as well as the lesson in conducting. A book that will educate as well as entertain.

It is rare to find a children's book that teaches kids quite unbeknownst to them. This book tackles a subject that could be difficult to interest kids in (it does not just cover the instruments of the orchestra, but is also a biography of sorts), but they still keep coming back for more. This captivation is due in part to the words which are delivered as lyrically as you imagine the music they speak of to be. Even more exciting to me, though, are the illustrations which are rendered so engagingly that you see them differently upon each reading.

What a fun and catchy treatment of a very unique subject -- internationally renowned conductor of the Virginia Symphany Orchestra JoAnn Falletta! More and more youth biographies about famous women are being written for young readers but this is one of the best. The illustrations are outstanding -- clear, bright, even funny! The text is as lyrically rendered as the symphany itself. Encore!

My Seven year old daughter just loves this book. She chooses it often at story time. She received the book as a gift for her sixth birthday and it was instrumental( no pun intended!) in her learning to read. She enjoys the catchy rhymes and bright and colorful artwork. I highly recommend this book!

This book so cleverly introduces a child to the symphony and many of it's components. We bought it for all of our nieces and nephews, many of whom take some type of music lessons, and whose parents go to the symphony from time to time. They have all loved the images so much and it's now one of those "what does this instrument say?" books with our two and three year old buddies. Fun,fun,fun!

In 778 Charlemagne made an incursion over the Pyrenees into Spain. Needing to take his army to the Rhine to meet another challenge, he retreated, leaving a rearguard to protect his army as it withdrew. That rearguard, led by Count Hruodland (later known as Roland) was defeated at Roncesvalles.

This episode gave us the legend of the brave Roland, who died blowing his horn to summon Charlemagne to return and rescue the overwhelmed soldiers. The story grew ever more elaborate with every retelling. In Italy Roland became Orlando. By the 1400s France and Italy nostalgically looked back on a lost world that never existed, the world of chivalry. Roland (or Orlando) figured largely in this literature that grew up about knights, ladies, dragons and magicians.

The Italian poet Matteo Boiardo wrote his contribution to the Roland cycle, Orlando Innamorato (1495). Boiardo died before finishing the planned final third part of his poem.

That brings us to Ludovico Ariosto who set out to finish Boiardo's epic. Ariosto was a superior poet and his Orlando Furioso is a truly major work and an important part of the Western Canon. It is also the most Italian book I have ever read. The mix of magic, history, humor, irony all combine in a way that ends up feeling Italian, yet that I can't exactly explain why. But anyone who has a close familiarity with Italian culture will understand what I mean. I can give an example. A brave knight saves the beautiful damsel. She offers herself as a reward. The brave knight then starts unbuckling his armor in order to collect his payment. Finally the lady grows bored with the laborious, time-consuming knightly undressing and wanders off. This irreverent original twist on an old story, done with a sly smile is pure Ariosto and pure Italy.

Ariosto is not only a good poet, he is a great storyteller. Because of this Orlando Furioso becomes a wonderful book in Guido Waldman's prose translation. I have rarely found translations of poetry to be satisfactory. As one man said, you can translate the words, but who can translate the music?

It's a shame this terrific book has slid off the modern reader's radar. The Renaissance was more than pictures and statues. It was a complete rebirth of the western mind. Orlando Furioso is as important a work of art as Botticelli's Primavera or Raphael's School of Athens.

It's a big book. Give yourself some time to enjoy this burly, mirthful work. It's worth it.
-Bill McGann, Author of "The Story of the Tour de France"

Although "Orlando Furioso" is one of the Great Classics, in terms of household recognition it has not been able to hold its own. Thus, it is not nearly as well known as Dante's Divine Comedy, a work to which it is sometimes compared. The work has been aptly described as a combination of Homer and Cervantes's "Don Quixote." To these two I would add Boccaccio's "Decameron."

"Orlando Furioso" deals with the exploits of Charlemagne's Paladins (knights) in their attempts to repulse the "Saracen" (Moorish) invasion of France. Against this rich backdrop all sorts of adventures take place, ranging from knightly combat, to amorous dalliance, to dragons, nymphs and other magic.

Ariosto wrote "Orlando Furioso" around 1516, some 750 years after the events it purports to describe. Thus, it is not surprising that the work contains many anachronisms. His warriors - both Christian and Saracen - fight in full body armor with stirrups and lance. But this mode of fighting did not develop until well after the year 1000. He makes reference to Tartars and Prester John. But "Tartars" is another name for Mongols, who were not known in Europe until the 13th century. The legend of Prester John has a similarly late origin.

Our age is greatly concerned with violence, especially the "gratuitous" kind. The violence in Orlando thus comes as something of a shock. There are frequent references to heads being lopped off and bodies cloven in twain. Also surprising are the great powers attributed to women. But it is unlikely that Ariosto was an early woman's libber. More likely he reflected prevailing views, and these gave women more due than we customarily attribute to past ages. Perhaps the status of women (and men) is governed by cyclical events, such as population pressures.

Is there a dominant message in "Orlando Furioso?" I found it hard to clearly identify one. Possibly the title contains a clue: "Orlando" is the name of the principal protagonist, and "Furioso" means "mad" or "rabid." What drove Orlando mad? Why, a faithless woman, of course! Yet one gets the impression that Ariosto intends most of the blame to go to Orlando himself. In pursuing this woman (an enemy, to boot) he betrays many of the ideals of courtly love. He turns the great powers of sublimated love to selfish interests. For this he is punished.

Before anything else is said, it should be known that this edition is a prose translation, which does not retain most poetic characteristics of the original poem although for a modern English reader this is probably the best edition yet: fairly clear and still interesting in its own way. Orlando Furioso is a 16th century epic poem dealing with Charlamgne's wars against the "Saracens" who had (if we are to take the poem as historical fact) even reached the point of besieging the city of Paris. Of course,the book was not meant by its author to be historically accurate in any way, merely a parody of chivalric court legends as the book description says. Whoever reads this book and fails to sense irony on every page, even crude jokes in some parts clearly does not understand what he is reading in the least. But Orlando Furioso is not a parody of just chivalric court legends; it also pokes fun at the Illiad, popular tales and even common peasant stories. The heads (complete with helmets) sliced in two by a single sword blow are taken from The Illiad, in which Greek champions perform similar feats, although in Orlando Furioso, literally hundreds of men meet their end in this manner to the point of becoming amusing in a way. And I found it strange to notice a very clear similarity between the story told by an innkeeper in the book and the prologue to a translation of a 13th century version of the Arabian Nights (translated by Hussain Haddawy). Ariosto had no possible way to know of the existence of the Nights, but still it is interesting to see how truly close the two incidents are: In Orlando, two men who have given up on the possibility of women being chaste, take one woman and watch her day and night, yet she still deceives them in their own bed. In the Nights, a demon has locked his wife inside an impenetrable castle, yet she still deceives him as he sleeps right next to her in bed. The two events are described similarly, with the same irony (being meant as a joke which the author denies believing in in the least). The book is funny only in the way reading Candide is funny. This is simply another example of what makes the book enjoyable. During the reading of Orlando, somewhere about 3/4 of the way into the book, the reader may wish that it would end right there and that two characters; Bradamant and Ruggiero should get married and finish the story. But the continuation of their separation and further adventures is just another parody of common legends, exaggerated out of proportion. In the end, with all its jokes and its surprisingly individualistic narrative technique, its more serious scenes (the most touching of which is when a woman named Isabel is killed) forms into a large picture, with a great deal of good atmosphere, such that when it ends (although the reader may not have been touched very much during its reading) will want it to go on.

Easy enough to refer to a prose translation as "appropriate for the masses," but the fact remains that when a translator is freed from the necessity of forcing a poem to conform to rhyme and meter in a second language, he has access to a broader range of vocabulary and is therefore more able to remain true to the spirit of the original (as Waldman deftly explains in his introduction). Is it any wonder that this work has received so little attention in America when past translations have been so hidebound and pedagogical? Orlando Furioso is anything but a sing-songy, staid old verse.

In Waldman's translation are to be found both the idealised virtues of chivalry and sometimes startlingly lowbrow humor, all wrapped up in an epic tale of adventure, romance and magic. By providing an unabridged translation (another shortcoming of more traditional editions), and by attempting to capture the true flavor of the work rather than slavishly abiding by the dictates of classical poetic rules, he has presented to English readers for the first time a tale that rivals the epics of Homer in its scope and aspiration. And for sheer entertainment value (coupled with the elitism of Ariosto's sly jabs at the very people for whom the work was composed), this work is all but impossible to beat-- his original audience, after all, was not the literati, but the idle rich.

Orlando Furioso is a classic story that has often been overlooked by the average reader. We follow Charlemagne's paladins as they traverse the world, pagan and Christian, looking for adventure, fame, and love. They end up in many fascinating places such as enchanted castles, Hades, and on the moon with St. John the Apostle. Their adventures bring them into contact with fascinating people, incredible beasts, and magic weapons. They engage in sword fights and duels, convert the Muslims, and fall in love. The story centers on Orlando and other pagan and Christian knights as they try to win the love of Angelica, a Saracen Princess. Meanwhile, a war between the Christians and Muslims is going on. These events are a continuation of the story told in Orlando Innamorato by Boiardo, which came before this poem. Ariosto, however, has given us a sequel that in many ways surpasses its predecessor. Orlando Furioso is a story of epic proportions that is subtly funny, never boring, and always beautiful. To the basic themes of chivalry and love, Ariosto has added elements of allegory, irony, and even prophecy to make an enchanting masterpiece. The stories contained are similar to the Arthurian legends, only with more humor and excitement. I agree with C.S. Lewis when he wrote: "Our oblivion of these poets (i.e. Boiardo and Ariosto) is much to be regretted...because it robs us of a whole species of pleasures and narrows our very conception of literature."

For some reason amazon.com links this review to both the Reynolds and the Waldman translations, but they are different books. Although the previous part of my review is valid for any translation, this part is only relevant for the Waldman version. I have not read the one by Reynolds. This translation is in prose, meaning it loses some of the original spirit of Ariosto. However, by doing this Waldman makes the stories much easier to read and more accessible for the average person, who usually does not read poetry. I really enjoy the prose rendering; it has been done beautifully. If you love poetry and/or want a translation closer to the original Italian, then perhaps you should buy another version. One benefit though, is that this edition is complete in one volume and unabridged. Also, there is an introduction and an index of characters and their adventures. Unfortunately, there are no annotations. Overall, this is an excellent book that I think everyone should read at least once. It is a classic!

Not a review here but a note. Readers who enjoy Orlando would appreciate Anthony Powell's witty account of the moon trip in the 12th and last volume of his A Dance to the Music of Time.

I may not have been the only person to have noticed how much the poetry improves in the last half of _Paradiso_ in the Dorothy Sayers translation. This is because Sayers died before completing the last of her translation of the _Divina Commedia_, and her devoted friend and admirer Barbara Reynolds took over. But where Sayers had been technically impressive in matching Dante's terza rima, but pedestrian in the poetry, at the point where (as I guess) Reynolds takes over a new lightness of touch and poetic feel for the language makes itself felt.

This Ariosto translation is Reynolds' great achievement. Moreover it is one of the three or four greatest literary translations in English, an achievement to stand beside Dryden's _Aeniad_ and Fairfax's _Gerusalemma Liberata_. (On Pope's _Illiad_, which I'm currently reading, I tend to agree with the contemporary reviewer who commented, "A very pretty poem, Mr Pope, but you must not call it Homer".)

She captures Ariosto's wit and lightness, occasionally turning in closing couplets for her stanzas that are as sharp as Byron's in _Don Juan_ (who was in turn also using Ariosto - among others - as a model), but also following Ariosto in allowing the sense to flow from stanza to stanza in a quite un-Byronic way. As well, she manages to transmit Ariosto's graver passages in equally dignified verse, for example some of the set pieces imitated (by Ariosto) from Homer. English readers tend to think of Ottava Rima as a vehicle for comic verse, but in Italian it is a model for epic. It's just that the great Italian epic tradition, unlike the English epic tradition before Byron's great anti-epic, includes humour.

As for Ariosto, he is a great poet and story-teller, and (not exactly a literary judgment, this) his authorial "voice" is one whose company you cannot help enjoying. His humour, sometimes sly, is also warmly compassionate; sometimes satirical, sometimes splendidly and deliberately silly. Ariosto knows his flying horses, invisibility rings, sexy sorceresses and the rest are perfectly absurd, but manages to maintain the fantasy elements as wonderful and exciting, without ever undercutting them with mere cynicism or bathos. But most often the humour is warm and character-based.

His story has an astonishing range of characters, the Moorish warriors and their lovers depicted as fairly and favourably as his Christian protegonists, and an astonish sweep, all over Europe and the East, with digressions to the Moon and other enchanted places.

Another feature of Ariosto is his feminism, which shows in his warrior women, who give and take in battle every bit as well as the men. He also tellingly mocks some of the anti-feminist aspects of chivalry, as in the scene where one of Ariosto's heroes is called upon to champion in a trial by combat a woman who has been accused of unchastity. The hero readily agrees to defend the woman's honour, but only after observing that he would as readily defend her if she were unchaste, as in his view (clearly also Ariosto's) women have a right to make love without being condemned for it.

Two last observations. First, I believe that this poem, and not Dante's, is the great Italian epic, superior to Dante for the same reason that Shakespeare is superior to Racine, or Byron's English epic is superior to Milton's or even Spencer's. Dante offers moral allegory (though with a thoroughly repellant worldview), and Ariosto's failure to preach has sometimes been taken as a sign of lack of depth or seriousness. But the great epics are about humanity, not allegory (though I have seen attempts to allegorise Homer, none have done so convincingly); and Ariosto presents one of the widest and greatest human canvases of all epic. It is the most readable long poem since the _Odyssey_. Yes.

Second, Amazon has linked this translation to another, a prose translation. I haven't read the prose translation, but I would observe that _Orlando Furioso_ is a poem. To render it as something else is to lose its structure, its purpose and its very nature. To present a prose translation of this poem as a genuine "version of Ariosto" is a bit like presenting Beethoven's Ninth symphony by playing an arrangement for kazoo: some of Beethoven will come through in a kazoo transcription, but you cannot call it the Ninth. Get the Reynolds; it is a great and easy _read_, and it is one of the glories of English poetic translation.

Cheers!

Laon

This is a wonderful flight of fantasy that is full of magic castles, horses that fly (hippogriffs), and such imagination and humor that you never cease to be entertained by it all. You may wonder like I did that: If this is "Part One", where is part two? I was unable to find any such continuation. You have to just enjoy this marvelous tale for what it is.

I read this book over the course of a summer, and delighted in taking Reynold's translation canto by canto. Ariosto's style is immortalized in her translation, complete with his witty asides and satirical commentary. Amazing.

Ariosto was one of the giants of Renaissance literature, and this was his footprint. Grand, touching, funny, witty, stirring -- as Dryden said of Chaucer, here is the world's plenty. Some of the greatest poets of the next two centuries (Tasso, Spenser, Milton) explicitly attempted to overdo him, and only sometimes succeeded; Byron took as much from Ariosto as he did from Pulci.

But don't read this on that account. Read it because it's a delight from start to finish. War, love, and chivalry are the poet's themes, and they're here in all their forms.

I don't know Italian, but everyone I've asked who would know assures me Reynolds's translation captures not just the essence but the spirit of the original.

(Ignore the reviews that claim that this is a prose translation -- they are from another translation.)

At 38yo now, I first found this as a paperback in my mother's books 20 years ago. It is now very definitely mine, I've kept it with permission. An army man, Lord Wavell proudly feels spiritual all the way through the anthology in his comments and editing. The content is the most surprising, consolidated & "popular with reasons" I've ever seen. All the classics are here, most of which Wavell could recite from memory. Everything: The owl & the pussycat get drunk on a dull opiate near a pleasuredome while keeping their heads when all around are losing theirs. Donne isn't in it but that's the only omission in the fun of reading it. Vast, diverse and often very funny, certainly beautiful.

This was my mothers favorite book of poetry. She bought it in London late in WWII as a member of the Canadian Air Force. Her copy is well annotated and much loved.

I don't read it much, as being produced during the war, it is made of inferior paper and boards.

Thank Goodness that there is a new edition of it so that it can be read and enjoyed by my children without damaging Mom's copy..

It is a great collection of poems that Lord Wavell could quote from memory. I love his selection and am truely impressed that he had so much poetry committed to memory. His comments on the poems and personages that he knew just add spice to one of the best collections of poetry ever.

I have a hard back copy of this book. It is more than a book of poetry it is a book of life, love, conflict, courage and all things Human. It is an embodiment of those virtues that are innate in all Men and Women. It is not all English poetry, there are a few Yanks thrown in for good measure.

At 38yo now, I first found this as a paperback in my mother's books 20 years ago. It is now very definitely mine, I've kept it with permission. An army man, Lord Wavell proudly feels spiritual all the way through the anthology in his comments and editing. The content is the most surprising, consolidated & "popular with reasons" I've ever seen. All the classics are here, most of which Wavell could recite from memory. Everything: The owl & the pussycat get drunk on a dull opiate near a pleasuredome while keeping their heads when all around are losing theirs. Donne isn't in it but that's the only omission in the fun of reading it. Vast, diverse and often very funny, certainly beautiful.

I have loved this book since about the age of eighteen. My grandfather quoted from Jean Ingelow's The High Tide On the Coast of Linconshire. The occasion was the wedding of my parents...John and Elizabeth. My grandfather at their wedding reception apparently quoted the lines... A sweeter woman ne'er drew breath than my son's wife, Elizabeth. I have often wondered how he came to know the poem.