Love Poems

Though Americans know Brecht (1898%E2%80%931956) almost entirely for his theater works, many Germans also think him a first-rate poet. This relatively short volume collects attractive new English versions of the great playwright's poems on erotic devotion, longing, disappointment, and good and bad sex. Some are caricatures; some depict sex workers, seriously or sarcastically; and some are raunchy jokes. Others, however, comment seriously on the beginnings, middles, and ends of romantic connections: "You ask how long now have they been together?// Not long.%E2%80%94And when they'll part?%E2%80%94Oh, soon enough./ So love appears secure to those who love." Still more poems, apparently written to real women, appear to track the great writer's devotions and his regrets. With the variety in tones comes a welcome mix of forms: a few dozen sonnets (put skillfully into rhymed English), but also enthusiastically vulgar ballads, stark free verse, and beautifully archaizing fragments. Constantine and Kuhn plan to translate all of Brecht's verse into English, making this collection the first of many: their forceful, clear versions usually sound like real poetry, not translationese. A compact and polemical introduction almost makes up for the lack of facing-page German and the absence of explanatory notes. (Nov.)