SELECTED POEMS 1923-1967

First UK edition, first printing. Original burgundy cloth, the spine lettered in gilt on a black background, in the dustwrapper designed by Peter Bennett. Upper edge coloured red. A fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout. Complete with the dustwrapper showing light wear to edges and a little fading to the spine. Not price-clipped (£5.00 net to the front flap). An attractive copy.

"First and foremost, I think of myself as a reader, then as a poet, then as a prose writer." So begins Borges' Foreword to this generous selection of poems spanning over thirty years, the first substantial presentation of these works in English. Printed in the original Spanish, with English versions on adjacent pages, the translations themselves are provided by a distinguished group of poets including Robert Fitzgerald, John Hollander, Richard Howard, W. S. Merwin, Alastair Reid, Mark Strand, John Updike and Richard Wilbur, who, Borges writes, "by their skill and generosity, have made English poems of my Spanish originals and so given them this new life." In preparing the volume, the editor went over draft translations with Borges, sending detailed notes to each of the translators, who then produced their final versions. "It was the first time I had ever taken a direct hand in the translation of any of my own work", Borges writes, "Di Giovanni and I have gone very thoroughly over each piece, each line, and each word; the fact that I am not only a collaborator but also the writer has given us greater freedom, since we are less tied to verbal precision than to inner meanings and intentions." In addition to Borges' Foreword, the volume includes a substantial editorial introduction, textual and bibliographical notes, translations of Borges' own prefaces and dedications, and a detailed index.