In To World, poems interrogate everything: nature, society, and thought itself, with no prejudice or even principle. In other words, they don't follow any rule, tradition, or discipline; they are decidedly critical. Thought is not reduced to philosophical, ethical, religious, political, or aesthetic interpretations. Rather, we are before thought in its totality, unwilling to recognize borders - although never in a pure state, not falling into speculation, into thinking just for thinking's sake. Thought is always related to experience, both personal and collective, and above all, emotion. It never once stops being thought through image, that is to say, lyrical. This poetry speaks of poetry; it takes it all on: the objective and subjective, the real and imagined, I and other. It ventures into virgin territory, on the outskirts of romanticism, realism, symbolism, and the avant-garde. Always a model of rebelliousness and freedom, a lesson in devotion and rigor, Gelman's work places him among today's best poets.

"At last, a marvelous translation into English of the soulful and celebratory and heartbreaking words of Juan Gelman, one of Latin America's most extraordinary poets."--Ariel Dorfman, author of "Death and the Maiden

"Perhaps the most admirable element of [Gelman's] poetry is the unthinkable tenderness he shows where paroxysms of rejection and denouncement would be justified, or his calling upon so many shadows for one voice to lull and comfort, a permanent caress of words on unknown tombs."--Julio Cortazar

"Gelman's poetry is epic in its scope--no corner of life goes unnoticed in this work. Here we find politics and history as seen through one vital human spirit. Rendered in a breathless style, this is the diary of a human heart in a rough world where artistry is the first salvation."--Oscar Hijuelos

"This selection of Juan Gelman's poetry introduces to an English-speaking readership the full range of Argentina's leading poet and a chief architect of Latin America's postcolonial social conscience."--Victor Perera, author of "Unfinished Conquest: The Tragedy of Guatemala

"This is a voice that sings and makes others sing. It speaks of struggles and dignity: It offers a faith that springs from doubt and a sense of freeedom strengthened by prison walls. It celebrates life while standing in its very midst."--Eduardo Galeano, from the Foreword

This translation offers for the first time the splendid poems of Sidney West to English readers, supposedly their original addressees. West is among the best imaginary poets of America, allegedly his native land, and of all possible lands. His texts, although rich with exceptional life experience, will satisfy those who still believe in "the death of the author." No less satisfied, in spite of his anti-romanticism, will be those captivated by "committed writing." And in another paradox that West himself would have loved, if he had existed, what's offered here constitutes a translation of a translation. An English version based on the prior version into Spanish completed in 1969 by Argentine writer Juan Gelman, one of the greatest living Latin American poets. He should be considered the genuine author of the author of these poems, and the poems themselves. Gelman's superb text poses a radical question: must human beings in modern society die in order to recuperate their human condition? Something happens after the passing of the book's thirty-five characters, their absence causes unforeseen consequences, generates certain kinds of presence. This profound questioning of Western assumptions surrounding death requires an innovative form that challenges the traditional boundaries between poetry and narrative, privileges the magical as a vital aspect of reality, and ultimately seeks a redefinition of the lyric persona. In The Poems of Sidney West, writing, without lessening its essential condition of creative practice, is conceived as an instrument not only to interpret but to transform the world.