Selected Poems by: Attila Josef
I normally am not the biggest fan of anything beyond elementary poetry. In other words, I rarely like to listen or read poetry that is beyond iambic pentameter. This text forced me to read and comprehend outside of my comfort zone as far as literature is concerned. One thing I must say I found in reading the Selected Poems was the constant reference to the author’s mother. It seemed through his writings that he had both a tremendous love and an excessive hate for his mother. In the poem, “Too Late for a Funeral” he blames his mother for her own death, stating, “I should have eaten you!” It was expressions such as these that caught my attention and forced me to look deeper into the writing. After reading that selection, it became clear to me that the poems required deeper thinking into literature itself, and to read into what the author was saying. Aside from the negative, I also found the selection, “Rising at the Dawn like Bakers” to be an interesting piece. He describes this ideal woman that he hopes to marry one day. He illustrates her qualities and elucidates that this idea of a woman is much like his own mother. He wishes to be like his father and marry her one day. In another selection entitled, “Sacriledge” he refers to a young virgin and asks for her “virgin mercy”. These writings were certainly different and intriguing. I also cant help but wonder the author’s complete intended purpose in writing. These writings were translated into English from Hungarian, and anyone who has ever spoken more than one language can tell you that passages are never exactly the same. Perhaps, some of the true meaning was lost in the translation. All in all, excellent read, I recommend it to anyone.
I normally am not the biggest fan of anything beyond elementary poetry. In other words, I rarely like to listen or read poetry that is beyond iambic pentameter. This text forced me to read and comprehend outside of my comfort zone as far as literature is concerned. One thing I must say I found in reading the Selected Poems was the constant reference to the author’s mother. It seemed through his writings that he had both a tremendous love and an excessive hate for his mother. In the poem, “Too Late for a Funeral” he blames his mother for her own death, stating, “I should have eaten you!” It was expressions such as these that caught my attention and forced me to look deeper into the writing. After reading that selection, it became clear to me that the poems required deeper thinking into literature itself, and to read into what the author was saying. Aside from the negative, I also found the selection, “Rising at the Dawn like Bakers” to be an interesting piece. He describes this ideal woman that he hopes to marry one day. He illustrates her qualities and elucidates that this idea of a woman is much like his own mother. He wishes to be like his father and marry her one day. In another selection entitled, “Sacriledge” he refers to a young virgin and asks for her “virgin mercy”. These writings were certainly different and intriguing. I also cant help but wonder the author’s complete intended purpose in writing. These writings were translated into English from Hungarian, and anyone who has ever spoken more than one language can tell you that passages are never exactly the same. Perhaps, some of the true meaning was lost in the translation. All in all, excellent read, I recommend it to anyone.
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