Herbert Lomas (1924–2011)

This book was a revelation to me, in fact it’s fair to say it’s one of a handful of books that have changed my outlook on life. It contains one of the richest concentrations of outstandingly fine poetry I have ever found. Names such as Paavo Haavikko, Pentti Saarikoski and Eeva-Liisa Manner will sound merely foreign and strange to all but a few outside their native country, but if you are at all susceptible to poetry, and you read Herbert Lomas’ translations of their work, you will take them to heart, and not forget them. As well as a few hundred translations, Lomas also contributes a lengthy introductory essay which outlines the history of poetry in Finland, and the landmark events and personalities that have shaped it. One observation of his which rings true in many of these poems is that they share in a certain sparsity, that the words are somehow not too close together, as they often seem to be in English-language poetry. The reader has often to leap between words and ideas, or else be left stranded, and this is exhilarating.… (mais)