Conductors of the Pit: Major Works by Rimbaud, Vallejo, Césaire, Artaud and Holan

by Clayton Eshleman

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Summary

Five of the greats of the 20th century poetry are here represented by works selected and translated by Clayton Eshleman. Rimbaud, Vallejo, Césaire, Artaud, and Holan are poets who challenge readers and writers to break out of pre-fabricated molds and to face an improvised reality. Although each is a synthesis of his own culture--French, Peruvian, Caribbean and Czech--they all speak to us. As Eshleman observes in his introduction, their poetry "attempts to become responsible for all the poet knows about himself and his world." It is poetry written in extremis, poetry that grasps the abyss. It is poetry of a brutal reality, not of academic, theoretical comfort.

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