This anthology brings together some of the most important modernist and postmodernist poets of the twentieth century, with its fulcrum resting in between the two world wars. Naturally, the oppression brought about by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and its reverberations throughout Europe for nearly half a century color this collection with angst, strength, and even joy. The versions of poems presented here are by a varied number of accomplished poets and translators, eliminating the possibility of redundancy or staleness in the selections. If I had one complaint, it would be the meagerness of selections from Korean and Irish poets, for example, in comparison to the number of Polish and German poets, though that is an understandable flaw considering the impact of the two World Wars on Germany, Russia, and the Jewish diaspora. Altogether, this anthology is essential to any poet or student of poetry for its careful assembly and wealth of great poems. ( )

Beautifully selected translations of international poetry. Just lovely. ( )