![]() ![]() The common reader may have no knowledge of how the syntax and meter work in the Greek language, but Sullivan’s translations make us unsuspecting students and we learn to follow the unfamiliar rhythms.Repetition is also important to these poems and we see it used in several effective ways: to reiterate, to counter and often to characterize the prisoner in his disbelief, in his shock or as a reaction to what is happening to him. The mastery of Sullivan’s translation comes through in the punctuation and word choices she makes. The pacing of Z213:Exit also mimics a play, moving at times quickly through action and then slowing down for reflection. ![]() The blocked prose poems fly in the face of the conservative conventions of poetry here in America because these poems go beyond the debate between the narrative and the lyric poem, often being both simultaneously.Dimitris Lyacos is not only a poet but also a playwright which is evident in how each poem is written like a scene in the prisoner’s life. In Z213:Exit: Poena Dani, Lyacos’ middle collection in a series of three, we experience the world through the eyes of a prisoner as he escapes from jail and travels through a dark, surreal world. ![]() The art of translation is a gift and we, as English speakers and readers, have Shorsha Sullivan to thank for bringing us the work of Greek poet Dimitris Lyacos. ![]()
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