Devil's Lunch : Selected Poems

Whether writing poems addressed to pigs or butchers, or about rats or lavatories, or in the voices of prostitutes, Aleksandar Ristovic (1933-94), one of the great Serbian poets, displayed an unsentimental sympathy with all that was despised and disregarded in creation. Charles Simic's wonderfully earthy translations give English readers their first chance to appreciate a poet who spoke to and for his people with humour, honesty and compassion.