This collection of poems from Tomaž Šalamun is exuberant, ambitious, and full of surprises. Here the devil is encountered and understood-

I see the devil's head, people, I see his whole body . . .

he longs for innocence, as we do.

Here the poet juggles many tones, languages, and countries. Desire is evoked as both frustrating and exhilarating-

I'm watered by longing, knocking my

head into the wall, on the ground, or I burn, burn,

folded up on the couch.

And memory comes back to remind us of the laws and experiences of childhood-

Once again you are let loose in the sea

only after five o'clock in the afternoon to take

a dose of sunlight like the ticking of the clock.

At once daring and clear-voiced, The Book for My Brother is an extraordinary achievement.

A collection of thrilling contradictions:

Avant-Garde Vision: Where the sacred meets the profane, and the devil is understood not as a monster, but as a being who “longs for innocence, as we do.”
A Global Voice: Journey through poems that juggle languages and continents with breathtaking speed, from the coast of Dalmatia to the streets of New York.
Lyrical Intensity: Experience desire as both frustrating and exhilarating, in lines that capture the feeling of burning on a couch or knocking your head into the wall for pure longing.
Philosophical Depth: Explore the tender and strange laws of childhood, where a dose of sunlight is measured out “like the ticking of the clock.”

The Book For My Brother