Friday, February 08, 2013

from The Erotic Spirit ...

Song by Tzu Yeh (4th century Chinese)

 Winter skies are cold and low,
... with harsh winds and freezing sleet.

But when we make love beneath our quilt,
we make three summer months of heat.


trans. Sam Hamill


 

Synopsis
This extraordinary collection of poems—covering thirty centuries of poetry from around the world—celebrates the erotic spirit in all its forms, from the passion of sexual desire to the intense longing for spiritual union. Beginning with anonymous Egyptian love songs from the fifteenth century BCE and continuing up to today's finest poets, the book draws on a broad range of cultural and spiritual traditions, including ancient Greek and Roman erotic poems, ecstatic Sufi songs, Chinese elegies for lost lovers, and bawdy English satires. Many of the poems are presented here in new translations by the editor, Sam Hamill, one of America's premier poet translators.

 

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