Rolls Royce and Other Poems

Michael Williamson was Reference Librarian at the National Library of Canada in Ottawa.

As many readers will know, Giorgio Bassani is an Italian novelist of international acclaim, mainly for his two novels, Behind the Door and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. This is the first authorized translation of his poems, and it is a truly collaborative effort: there is an insightful introduction by Northrop Frye, and the translations were done by Francesea Valente, with cooperation from Greg Gatenby and Irving Layton, under the supervision of Mr. Bassani. Aya Press designed a most attractive book with a haunting cover by artist Jerry Silverberg. The text of the twelve poems is bilingual, in Italian and English. Though a relatively small collection at 45 pages, it is nevertheless powerful and representative of Mr. Bassani’s poetic output, as well as effectively complementing his prose and giving us a clearer picture of an important writer’s creative Weltanschauung. The themes and overall tone of the novels are distilled in these poems. They are quiet, sad, sensitive poems about aging and love and the sometimes overpowering condition of loneliness and exile: “I can only tell you that I let / myself be led in darkness / by someone who took / me, silently, by the / hand.” The more political themes of prejudice and repression are also evident in such poems as “Rolls Royce” and “The Racial Laws.” Only the slight little ditty “To a Critic” seems silly and out of place in this beautifully translated and important collection.