Vita Nuova

Dante speaks, but does not sing, in this straightforward translation by Luzzi (Botticelli’s Secret) of the medieval Italian poet’s meditation on love. In 42 brief sections, the book describes the poet’s youthful love for Beatrice, whom he first sees when they are both nine years old. After that first sighting, “Love governed my soul, which surrendered to him entirely.” Nine years later, Dante sees Beatrice on the street and dreams, in one of the poem’s most striking images, of Love forcing Beatrice to eat the poet’s burning heart from Love’s hands. Interspersing poems (“And from her eyes as she moves them about,/ Come burning spirits filled with flames of love”) with prose commentary (“I lingered for many days in this state of wanting to write, but in fear of beginning”), Dante details the agony and ecstasy of his love and the aftermath of Beatrice’s untimely death. Luzzi’s approach prioritizes “idiomatic fluency in English,” and his translation is eminently readable, employing a vocabulary and syntax familiar to any reader of modern English. As a result, Dante’s lines lose their luster at times: “If now I wish to vent my pain,/ Which brings me close to death’s own door,/ I must express my inner woe.” Still, this makes for an accessible and welcome introduction to Dante’s masterpiece. (Dec.)