NTA Longlist: Amnesia of the Movement of Clouds & Of Red and Black Verse by Maria Attanasio translated by Carla Billitteri

Amnesia of the Movement of Clouds & Of Red and Black Verse by Maria Attanasio, translated from the Italian by Carla Billitteri (Litmus Press)

“Flash of pomegranate/ flame of malvasia/ in a globalized stanza/ red of poesia/ Darkness now, a moment ago I was Maria.” Two sharp, glinting collections of poetry from Sicilian poet Maria Attanasio appear in English for the first time, in a lucid and haunting translation by translator and critic Carla Billitieri. The chances Billitieri takes as a translator are constantly poised to remind us of Attanasio’s inquiry into sound, memory, loss, and the results in English echo and linger. The translator has also included a substantial introduction to Attanasio’s poetics in this beautiful edition by Litmus Press, and her translations are followed by endnotes that elucidate many layers of this complex and unsettling poetry.