DISAFFECTIONS: Complete Poems 1930–1950

Cesare Pavese, , trans. from the Italian by Geoffrey Brock. . Copper Canyon, $17 (372pp) ISBN 978-1-55659-174-7

Born in 1908, Pavese completed a Ph.D. thesis on Walt Whitman and became one of Italy's leading translators of American writing before committing suicide in 1950. This bilingual edition begins with the brilliant Work's Tiring, a 1936 book written while jailed for "anti-fascist activities," and ends with a poem written in English: "Some one has died/ long time ago—/ some one who tried/ but didn't know." (Dec.)

Featured Nonfiction Reviews

Bruce Chadwick

The Battle of Gettysburg was a dramatic combination of pathos and absurdity, according to this remarkable selection of primary sources from historian Chadwick (The Cannons Continue reading »

Joshua Howe, Alexander Lemons

Howe (Behind the Curve), a professor of environmental history at Reed College, and U.S. Marine veteran Lemons team up for a searing mix of wartime memoir and scientific Continue reading »

Rich Benjamin

Benjamin (Searching for Whitopia) delivers a devastating memoir about the ripple effects of the coup that ousted his grandfather, Haitian president Daniel Fignolé, in 1957. Continue reading »

Marlene L Daut

Historian Daut (Awakening the Ashes) offers a powerful biography of Henry Christophe (1767-1820), who fought for, defected from, and ultimately ruled over Haiti. She first Continue reading »