The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry

Edited by Ilya Kaminsky and Susan Harris of Words Without Borders, The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry offers a selection of the finest international poetry from the 20th century in the best English translations available. 

Providing in many cases the first and only English language translations of acclaimed poets from the world over, The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry is a unique treasure and resource which Gregory Orr proclaims, “a stunning, indispensable anthology” and Edward Hirsch calls, “a modern book of wonders.”

“From canonical modernists like Valéry, Vallejo, and Pasternak to younger poets of today, the Ecco Anthology collects an amazing spectrum of poetic voices from around the world.”—John Ashbery

In this remarkable anthology, introduced and edited by Ilya Kaminsky and Susan Harris, poetic visions from the twentieth century will be reinforced and in many ways revised. Here, alongside renowned masters, are internationally celebrated poets who have rarely, if ever, been translated into English.

“This brilliantly assembled gathering of world voices reads as a symphony of utterance beginning to end, an international conversation of the highest order, regarding the questions and concerns of humankind, beyond borders and all other such barriers, real or imagined. Abundant thanks especially to the editors and translators of this magnificent work.” - Carolyn Forché

“It is a modern book of wonders, of airy correspondences and earthly dialogues, of faraway voices and unlikely global encounters, of borders magically crossed and deaths transfigured, of candles lighting each other, like souls. It is inexhaustible.” - Edward Hirsch

“This brilliantly assembled gathering of world voices reads as a symphony of utterance beginning to end, an international conversation of the highest order, regarding the questions and concerns of humankind, beyond borders and all other such barriers, real or imagined.” - Carolyn Forché

“I suspect there are not many collections (if any) like The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry. Gathered within its pages are some of the finest poems from around the planet written in the 20th century.” - The Morning News

“The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry is essential reading.....There’s no shortage of marvelous new voices to discover. Spanning generations, cultures and countries, this is truly a landmark publication-and it’s a good gift for the poetry lover in your life, even if that person is you.” - Newsday

“In this highly readable anthology, Kaminsky, one of his generation’s finest poets, and Harris, the editorial director of Words Without Borders, aim to expand literary citizenship -- and succeed elegantly.” - The Barnes & Noble Review

“This astonishing anthology deeply substantiates Rubén Darío’s claim that “a poet moves in the world.” It is a modern book of wonders, of airy correspondences and earthly dialogues, of faraway voices and unlikely global encounters, of borders magically crossed and deaths transfigured, of candles lighting each other, like souls. It is inexhaustible.” - Edward Hirsch

“An impossible task well done is a great thing. And for those of us more or less islanded in English, this sample of the planet’s poetic riches translated from many tongues is a precious gift, a privileged opening to a larger world. The editors’ allegiance to what connects and enlarges us led to the bold decision to arrange these 20th Century poets—not by language or nation—but chronologically, making time their shared dwelling place, and poetry a human space in a barbarous century.” - Eleanor Wilner

“From canonical modernists like Valéry, Vallejo and Pasternak to younger poets of today, the Ecco Anthology collects an amazing spectrum of poetic voices from around the world in gifted translations, often by other well-known poets. It becomes immediately indispensable.” - John Ashbery

“Starting from the shared and shareable human heart, the poems in this stunning, indispensable anthology guide us readers by a thousand paths across that landscape of terror and beauty that was the twentieth century. By journey’s end, we’ve traversed the whole globe and stand on the threshold of the new millennium in a world made small, and whole, and home by these poets, these poems.” - Gregory Orr

“An incomparable collection of poets whose work has bever been fully available in English....The reader is given a sense of the entire twentieth century. Kaminsky and Harris have done a first-rate job of bringing a literal world of poets together.” - Ploughshares