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Description of  Yehuda Amichal, 'Poems of Jerusalem and Love Poems'

This volume of work by the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai contains two of his collections in full. This is a bilingual edition with English translations alongside the Hebrew originals. Though the title of this bilingual selection recalls two recent works by Amichai ( Love Poems , LJ 8/81, and Poems of Jerusalem , Harper, 1988), it is actually drawn from eight previous works and boasts an even larger array of translators (including Stephen Mitchell, David Rosenberg, Ted Hughes, and the poet himself). The thematic arrangement deftly emphasizes the Israeli poets constant preoccupation with both Jerusalem and love. I remember that the city was divided/ Not only between me and you,/ When we lived there together, Amichai says, entwining the two in I Dont Know If History Repeats Itself. That these poems are presented with no translators introduction shows how familiar Amichais voice has become to English readers. Despite the absence of a few personal favorites from earlier collections (such as the masterful My Mother Once Told Me), having the full range of Amichais work back in print is a delight. Rochelle Ratner