A Broken Man in Flower

‘These are “versions” of Ritsos by a major English poet. Yannis Ritsos, one of the most celebrated Greek poets of the 20th century, has at last found a “companion translator” up to the task. The work that is experimental and revolutionary in Greek is experimental and revolutionary in English. Ritsos’s output is enormous, his life heroic and eventful, his voice an embodiment of national courage.’ * The Times Literary Supplement, on David Harsent’s In Secret *
’[Ritsos] records, at times celebrates, the enigmatic, the irrational, the mysterious and invisible qualities of experience.’ * The New York Times Book Review, on David Harsent’s In Secret *

David Harsent has published thirteen volumes of poetry. Legion won the Forward Prize. Night was triple shortlisted in the UK and won the Griffin International Poetry Prize. Fire Songs won the T.S. Eliot Prize. A new collection, Loss, appeared in January 2020. A Broken Man in Flower: versions of Yannis Ritsos is published by Bloodaxe in 2023. Harsent has collaborated with several composers, though most often with Harrison Birtwistle. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Roehampton.

Yannis Ritsos (1909-90) is generally considered to be – along with Cavafy, Seferis and Elytis – one of the most significant Greek poets of the last century. From an early age, he was dogged by the tuberculosis that killed his mother and brother. His father and sister suffered breakdowns and spent time in institutions. During his lifetime, his poems were publicly burned by the Metaxas regime, and his books banned. Ritsos himself was repeatedly arrested and sent to prison camps, before being confined to house arrest on the island of Samos.

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