Modern History: Prose Poems 1987-2007 by Christopher Buckley

Abstract

3 maternal grandparents and discov ered that theywere Jewish,but for them itwas inconceivable that they could have a German grandson and simply denied his existence. Thus the plot?or bond, rath er?thickens. But what about Dave? On one of his stopovers in Berlin, he had gottenHope pregnant again, and now, thanks to Walter's sup portive role, she is happy in antici pation. We do not know how their relationship evolves. But some of Winger's hints about the nature of Dave's "economic assistance pro gram" inPoland provides not only a nicely ironic twistbut probably also a hint as tohis fate.An amusing but also very affectingbook. Ulf Zimmermann Kennesaw State University Verse Belonging: New Poetry by Iranians around the World. Niloufar Talebi, ed. & tr.Berkeley/Seattle.NorthAtlantic/ Scala House. 2008. xxvi + 230 pages. $18.95. isbn978-1-55643-712-0 At theend of Belonging, there isa list of 137names entitled "Partial List of Iranian Poets around theWorld." Of the poets listed, forty-twoare said to live in theUnited States, twenty one in Germany, twenty in Sweden, fourteen inCanada, eleven in France, and the remaining ones of lesser numbers in other countries of west ern Europe and inAustralia. Fleeing the autocratic rule and censorship of the government in their homeland after the 1979 Islamic revolution, these poets are of three generations. Those born between 1929 and 1945 were more or less established poets when they left;those born between 1946 and i960 had emerged before and during therevolution; and those born after 1961 were young, new voices. They all continued to write poetry in Persian and some, addi tionally, in the language of their adopted countries. They continued the free-verse rebellion in Iranian poetry ushered earlier by Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000), and they even developed their modern poetry fur ther, away from the themes and styles of the classical heritage of Persian literature. Niloufar Talebi, born inLondon to Iranian parents and educated in Iran, Europe, and the United States (where she now lives), has ably translated eighteen of these poets, seven women and eleven men, with assistance from poets Zack Rogow and Daniel O'Connell. Her bilingual anthology isa good selection and an excellent representation of Persian poetry in the diaspora, often torn between longing for the homeland and belonging to it.The themes vary and include erotic poetry by Ziba Karbassi and Jamshid Moshkani, protest poetry by Maryam Huleh and Esma'il Kho'i, and personal epic poems by Shahrouz Rashid. They often express conflicting emo tions regarding Western and tradi tional Iranian values, as in poems by Reza Farmand, Saghi Ghahra man, and Granaz Moussavi; nostal gia forthepast, seen in Mina Assadi and Majid Naficy; and opposition tonostalgia, exemplified by Behzad Keshmiripour. Talebi's introduction to the anthology is useful, and so are her prefaces to each poet's translated poems, containing a briefbiography of the poet and titles of his or her main publications. Speaking about Saghi Ghahraman, however, she says that in 2001 Ghahraman pre sented her English poetry inMon treal at "Metropolice Blue" instead of saying "Blue Metropolis," which is a Canadian foundation that orga nizes an annual international liter ary festival inMontreal and which celebrated its tenth anniversary in spring 2008. On the whole, this collection is impressive by making a good sample of contemporary Iranian poets in thediaspora so beautifully accessible toEnglish readers and by presenting them so deservingly as a part of world literature today. Issa J. Boullata Montreal ChristopherBuckley. Modern History: Prose Poems 1987-2007 Dorset, Ver mont. Tupelo. 2008. 96 pages. $16.95. isbn978-1-932195-68-2 Are these entries poems? I'll leave that sometimes interesting but often desiccating question to those more interested in nomenclature. These prose pieces are deeply poet ic, yielding nearly every satisfac tion thatpoetry affords. "The wind comes from 10,000 miles away, the sweet air lifts the atoms of light. One thin cloud, shaped like a soul, is back-lit, briefly, by the moon." ? ? ,. limiMMMMMIMMIMHIMMHMMMMIIIIIIIMimiMIMIIIMIIIMIIIIMIMIIIIMMIIMMIIMIIMMMIIMIIIM 72 I World Literature Today though most frequently returning to lay imagery of cosmology and scientific concepts as highly useful tropes forexploring the individual and collective human experience. Add casual reference to theApol lonian...