Roots in the Air

Hamburger Michael

During the 1980s Michael Hamburger published both collected and selected editions of his poetry, but "Roots in the Air" is his first collection of new poems to appear for a decade. "Memorably disquieting" was one reviewer's verdict on his last collection, a response which the poems in this book will evoke in many readers. His work is profoundly engaged with both the natural and human world, its concerns are felt not fashioned, and his verse has a natural ease and personal rhythms which make it both distinctive and approachable.

About the Author

Michael Hamburger (1924-2007) was a poet and critic of distinction as well as the outstanding translator of German poetry. His awards include the Schlegel-Tieck Prize (1981), the German Federal Republic's Goethe Medal (1986) and the EC's first European Translation Prize (1990) for "Poems of Paul Celan". Five collections of his poetry appeared since "Collected Poems 1941-1994". He also published several collections of essays, the critical study "The Truth of Poetry", and an autobiography "String of Beginnings". His translations include selections from Celan, Eich, Goethe, Hofmannsthal, Holderlin, Peter Huchel, Rilke and others.

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