The Winged Energy of Delight - Selected Translations

"This dazzling, intensely personal compendium is a passionate feast." —Jane Hirshfield

Robert Bly had always been amazingly prescient in his choice of poets to translate. The poetry he chose supplied qualities that were lacking from the literary culture of this country. For the first time Robert Bly’s brilliant translations, from several languages and spanning twenty-two poets, have been brought together in one book.

At a time when editors and readers knew only Eliot and Pound, Robert Bly introduced the earthy wildness of Pablo Neruda and Cesar Vallejo and the sober grief of Trakl, as well as the elegance of Jiménez and Tranströmer. He also published high-spirited versions of Kabir and Rumi, and Mirabai, which had considerable influence on the wide culture of the 1970s and 1980s. Bly’s clear translations of Rilke attracted many new readers to the poet, and his versions of Machado have become models of silence and depth. He continues to bring fresh and amazing poets into English, most recently Rolf Jacobsen, Miguel Hernandez, Francis Ponge, and the ninteenth-century Indian poet Ghalib. As Kenneth Rexroth has said, Robert Bly “is one of the leaders of a poetic revival which has returned American literature to the world community.”

This one-of-a-kind anthology gathers the voices that reshaped American poetry:

Surrealist & Modernist Masters: Experience the “earthy wildness” of Pablo Neruda and César Vallejo, the “sober grief” of Georg Trakl, and the startling imagery of Tomas Tranströmer. Spiritual & Ecstatic Poetry: Discover the profound verses of Sufi poets Rumi and Hafez, the sharp wit of Kabir, and the devotional fire of Mirabai. Seminal Spanish Poets: Encounter the “silence and depth” of Antonio Machado, the genius of Federico García Lorca, and the passion of Juan Ramón Jiménez. German Language Visionaries: Read the clear, powerful translations of Rainer Maria Rilke that attracted a generation of new readers, presented alongside the haunting work of Georg Trakl. A Career-Defining Collection: Spanning decades of dedication, this volume showcases Robert Bly’s essential role in bringing the great poets of the world to an American audience.