In the Presence of AbsenceMahmoud Darwish (trans. Sinan Antoon) One of the most transcendent poets of his generation, Darwish composed this remarkable elegy at the apex of his creativity, but with the full knowledge that his death was imminent. Thinking it might be his final work, he summoned all his poetic genius to create a luminous work that defies categorization. In stunning language, Darwish's self elegy inhabits a rare space where opposites bleed and blend into each

are among those who also find a place in the three long poem-sequences that comprise the book

largely in the form of notebooks transcribed by his disciples

where she spent her exile

poems culled from years of notebooks that are

Don Mee Choi is the author of three books of poetry and hybrid essays

in kringen van critici en liefhebbers

adembenemende epische gedicht

inviting a thrill of discovery and conjecture that can be described only as electric—or

’ Misschien is het jullie opgevallen dat de zinnen kort zijn en de structuur gefragmenteerd

” a translator

and ideologies

as Joseph Brodsky wrote