Bringing his genuine poetic gifts to the project, Slavitt’s
translations provide stronger evidence of the originals’ poetic
qualities than has been available for at least a century. –
Henry Taylor, Pulitzer Prize winner
Description
The fact that Cavalcanti's friend, Dante Alighieri, was a supremely
fine poet ought not blind us to Cavalcanti's own, rather different
excellence. His love poetry has more of the tang of real-world
experience and is as appealing as Dante's, although in a more
modern and recognizable way. The two poets both suffer, but Cavalcanti
is not so sure that his torments are likely to improve his spirit. He
is, therefore, more torn and under greater pressure to find some
meaning in his struggles, and, as translator David R. Slavitt declares,
"more fun."