cover image PURGATORIO

PURGATORIO

Dante Alighieri, , trans. from the Italian by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander. . Doubleday, $35 (768pp) ISBN 978-0-385-49699-5

In addition to the Pessoa title reviewed above, a tremendous amount of terrific poetry in translation is due this fall and winter. The books listed below, in varying ways, re-examine classics and introduce modern masters to English speakers.

PURGATORIODante Alighieri, trans. from the Italian by Robert Hollander and Jean Hollander. Doubleday, $35 (656p) ISBN 0-385-49699-0

With its elegant, carefully negotiated translations and canto-by-canto notes, outlines and annotations, this second volume from the Hollanders takes its place beside last year's Inferno and paves the way for Paradise. These translations, honed over Robert Hollander's 35 years teaching Dante at Princeton, are touted as the U.S. English standard for rendering Dante's layered meanings. (Feb.)