Randy Blasing

My personal favorite will probably always be "On Living"
(Living is no laughing matter:
you must live with great seriousness
like a squirrel, for example--
I mean, without looking for something beyond and above living
I mean living must be your whole life...)

I purchased this book after reading a letter written by Che Guevara in which he quotes a poem by Nazim Hikmet. This volume of selected poetry by the Turkish Marxist poet is full of emotion. Love, devotion, perseverance, defiance, longing, pride, loyalty. The pain of separation is displayed throughout the work. From his wife. From his country. A great contribution to world literature. Any lover of poetry should not pass this up.

The oft imprisoned, eventually exiled Turkish poet, Hikmet's poetry softly opposes and defies his punishments. Loves, wifes, friends, the act of poetry, usually wins over his loyal communism. Even in translation, these poems deserve top shelf respect.