Dells and Hollows

Overview

This collection of poems was selected and translated by the poet himself. The book is divided into four sections, "In the Low Daylight," "In the Mercator Projection," "In Wind and Rain," and "Dells and Hollows." The Slovenian original is provided for eight of the poems to stress that all the poems in the book are indeed translations and to allow those who can read both languages the pleasure of comparison. Readers who do not read Slovenian will enjoy the ability to see the shape of the original poems and will notice that the purely formal constraints the poet imposes on himself in one language are resolved differently by him in another. The comparisons highlight the tour-de-force that is Strojan's work as a poet and a translator. Also included is an introduction by former Vermont Poet Laureate, Sydney Lea, who provides an idea of the poet's sensibilities and the poetry's complex subtleties.

Reviews

"Strojan's sensibility is so keen that what remains imperceptible for the common lot of humanity can for him burst without warning into perceptibility. I'd propose, in fact, that here is a mind for which what we lazily call mere metaphor is vividly, sometimes almost violently, alive."  —Sydney Lea, poet

Author Biography

Marjan Strojan is a poet and translator who has worked as a baggage carrier and load-sheet-man at an airport, a film critic in Ljubljana, and a journalist in London. Translations of his works have appeared in many languages. He has been awarded the Sovré Translation Prize and the France Prešeren Foundation Prize for his translations. He lives in Slovenia. Sydney Lea is the former Poet Laureate of Vermont and the founder of the New England Review. He is the author of numerous titles including Ghost of Pain, A Little Wilderness, and Pursuit of a Wound. He lives in Newbury, Vermont.