The Book for My Brother

About Specification

This newest collection of poems from Tomaž Šalamun is exuberant, ambitious, and full of surprises. Here the devil is encountered and understood-

I see the devil's head, people, I see his whole body ...

he longs for innocence, as we do.

Here the poet juggles many tones, languages, and countries. Desire is evoked as both frustrating and exhilarating-

I'm watered by longing, knocking my

head into the wall, on the ground, or I burn, burn,

folded up on the couch.

And memory comes back to remind us of the laws and experiences of childhood-

Once again you are let loose in the sea

only after five o'clock in the afternoon to take

a dose of sunlight like the ticking of the clock.

At once daring and clear-voiced, The Book for My Brother is an extraordinary achievement.