Tranströmer, Tomas

Overall, it is not whole poems, which at times are stilted, directionless, or overly somber, but lines that are revealed as this poet's lifelong strength (e.g., "The mailbox shines calmy, what is written cannot be taken back"). In the last half of the book, the poems settle, grow calm, and stray less into the unconscious as reverence takes over, rendering the reading experience quite ordinary.

This collection will be of interest not only to readers of Bly and Tranströmer but of particular value to those who enjoy the history and politics of the Sixties and those drawn to the process of translation.