Weissbort's intention was to end his tenure with the series Modern
Poetry in Translation with an issue devoted, in part, to Eastern
Europe, as the first book in the MPT series (1965) was largely devoted
to this region or, more precisely, to the first post-War generation of
poets, such as Zbigniew Herbert, Miroslav Holub, and Vasko Popa. In this
most recent volume of MPT, Weissbort explores the changed landscape of
the past thirty years, including interviews with writers of succeeding
generations and a few survivors from the Herbert generation.
Other features of Looking Eastward include a broad selection of MPT
cofounder Ted Hughes' unpublished translations from various languages
and time periods, and a selection of work from student translators.