**
Winner of The 2011 Best Translated Book of the Year Award
Winner of The 2011 Award for Best Literary Translation into English from
the AATSEL**
From his first book of poems, Chessboards of Hours (1995), Ales Steger
has been one of Slovenia's most promising poets. The philosophical and
lyrical sophistication of his poems, along with his work as a leading
book editor and festival organizer, quickly spread Steger's reputation
beyond the borders of Slovenia. The Book of Things is Steger's most
widely praised book of poetry and his first American collection. The
book consists of fifty poems that look at things (i.e. aspirin, chair,
cork) which are transformed by Steger's unique poetic alchemy.
Translator Brian Henry is a distinguished poet, translator, editor,
and critic.
From Publisher's Weekly:
Steger's efforts sometimes bring to mind such Western European figures
as Francis Ponge and Craig Raine, who also sought to make household
things look new and strange. Yet Steger brings a melancholy Central
European sense of history- his objects tend to remember, or cause, great
pain: "It pours, this poisonous, sweet force," Steger writes of
"Saliva," "Between teeth, when you spit your own little genocide."
(Nov.)
From Guernica, a Magazine of Art and Politics:
It is a rare treat to have an English translation before the ink has
dried on the original. By which I mean, a mere five years after the
book's Slovenian publication, Brian Henry has brought these poems to
life for those of us not lucky enough to read Slovenian. Henry's
translations are impressive for sheer acrobatics.
