"Zone" is the fruit of poet-translator Ron Padgett s fifty-year engagement with
the work of France s greatest modern poet. This bilingual edition of Apollinaire
s poetry represents the full range of his achievement from traditional lyric ve
rse to the pathbreaking visual poems he called calligrams, from often-anthologiz
ed classics to hitherto-untranslated gems, from poems of cosmic breadth to a poe
m about his shoes. Including an introduction by the distinguished scholar Peter
Read, helpful endnotes, a preface, and an annotated bibliography by Padgett, thi
s new edition of Apollinaire stands out not only for its compact and judicious s
election of the essential poems but also as the work of an important American po
et. "The Washington Post "has said, No praise can be too high for Ron Padgett s
translations. "
