This is the first book-length collection in English of the literary works of Lorenzo de&’Medici, the major poetic voice of the Florentine Resistance. Lorenzo de&’Medici (1449-92) was the ruler of Florence and the principal statesman of his time. A contemporary of Columbus, Lorenzo is hardly known in the English-speaking world as a major Quattrocento writer, author of a large and varied body of poetry as well as an important literary treatise. His poetry and patronage were instrumental in renewing the vernacular literature of his age after a period of stagnation. That Lorenzo&’s literary writings were for the most part never translated is a fascinating curiosity of history, attributable to the irreverent, bawdy subject matter of many of his poems, objections to his authoritarian politics, and the unconventional features of his poetic realism. Yet Lorenzo is now seen as the most interesting exponent of the cultural renaissance that he encouraged. His longer poems in particular reveal the central concerns, everyday activities, and favorite ideas of his day. No other Florentine writer succeeds in capturing as he does the beauty, seasonal changes, and rhythms of life of the Tuscan countryside. His poetic realism is that which sets him apart from his age, yet makes him such a vivid portrayer of it. The availability of his works in English will serve to modify and enlarge our conception of the Florentine Renaissance.

The first full collection of the works of a foremost African American poet Song You asked me to sing Then you seemed not To hear; to have gone out From the edge of my voice And I was singing There I was singing In a heathen voice You could not hear Though you requested The song—it was for them. Although they refuse you And the song I made for you Tangled in their tongue They wd mire themselves in the spring Rains, as I sit here folding and Unfolding my nose in your gardens I wouldn't mind it so bad Each word is cheapened In the air, sounding like Language that riots and Screams in the dark city Thoughts they requested Concepts that rule them Since I can't have you I will steal what you have Lorenzo Thomas (1944-2005) was the youngest member of the Society of Umbra, predecessor of the Black Arts Movement. The Collected Poems of Lorenzo Thomas is the first volume to encompass his entire writing life. His poetry synthesizes New York School and Black Arts aesthetics, heavily influenced by blues and jazz. In a career that spanned decades, Thomas constantly experimented with form and subject, while still writing poetry deeply rooted in the traditions of African American aesthetics. Whether drawing from his experiences during the war in Vietnam, exploring his life in the urban north and the southwest, or parodying his beloved Negritude ancestors, Thomas was a lyric innovator. Sample Poem: Song You asked me to sing Then you seemed not To hear; to have gone out From the edge of my voice And I was singing There I was singing In a heathen voice You could not hear Though you requested The song—it was for them. Although they refuse you And the song I made for you Tangled in their tongue They wd mire themselves in the spring Rains, as I sit here folding and Unfolding my nose in your gardens I wouldn't mind it so bad Each word is cheapened In the air, sounding like Language that riots and Screams in the dark city Thoughts they requested Concepts that rule them Since I can't have you I will steal what you have

Those Who from Afar Look Like Flies is an anthology of poems and essays that aims to provide an organic profile of the evolution of Italian poetry after World War II. Beginning with the birth of Officina and Il Verri, and culminating with the crisis of the mid-seventies, this tome features works by such poets as Pasolini, Pagliarani, Rosselli, Sanguineti and Zanzotto, as well as such forerunners as Villa and Cacciatore. Each section of this anthology, organized chronologically, is preceded by an introductory note and documents every stylistic or substantial change in the poetics of a group or individual. For each poet, critic, and translator a short biography and bibliography is also provided.

"The first English translation of the complete literary works of Lorenzo de' Medici (1 January 1449-9 April 1492), Italian statesman and ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Comprises love poems, comic poems, short stories, and philosophical and devotional works, including one play"--

"A fun-loving collection of rhymes and verses all featuring smelly stuff. Some things smell good, and some things smell bad. From pizza to skunks, this book covers it all!"--Cover back.

The legendary musician’s distinctive artistic take on Edgar Allan Poe includes “some of the most personal lyrics of his career” (Rolling Stone). One of the most influential and innovative recording artists of the past three decades, Lou Reed has always offered a shrewd view of life in the big city in all its colors. It is no surprise, then, that he considers Edgar Allan Poe a spiritual forefather. In The Raven, Reed immerses himself in Poe’s enigmatic world and sets out to reimagine his work to mesmerizing effect. In 2001 Lou Reed, legendary theater director Robert Wilson, and an all-star cast presented the musical POEtry at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Reed’s subsequent studio adaptation, The Raven, has been hailed as one of his more daring and challenging albums. Here, accompanied by photographs by the acclaimed artist and director Julian Schnabel, is the definitive text of the CD release. The Raven includes Reed's distinctive takes on Poe’s most celebrated works, as well as song lyrics written for the musical. It is a fascinating meeting between a dark chronicler of the twentieth century and his nineteenth-century counterpart; the work of one iconoclastic genius offering a haunting exploration of another.

The first comprehensive English translation and commentary on Dante's early verse to be published in almost fifty years, Dante's Lyric Poetry includes all the poems written by the young Dante Aligheri between c. 1283 and c. 1292. Essays by Teodolinda Barolini guide the reader through the new verse translations by Richard Lansing, illuminating Dante's transformation from a young courtly poet into the writer of the vast and visionary Commedia. Barolini's commentary exposes Dante's lyric poems as early articulations of many of the ideas in the Commedia, including the philosophy and psychology of desire and its role as motor of all human activity, the quest for vision and transcendence, the frustrating search for justice on earth, and the transgression of boundaries in society and poetry. A wide-ranging and intelligent examination of one of the most important poets in the Western tradition, this book will be of interest to scholars and poetry-lovers alike.