The theme of Voznesensky's [Vzgljad: Stixi i poèmy] is embodied in the multi meaning title (vzgljad can mean "look," "glance," "view," "opinion")….

The look is very vast in range. The book is something of a tour: through Russia, the USA, Canada, history. It is also a tour of verse: Voznesensky recounts his impressions of several modern American and Canadian poets, translating some of their verse along the way (his version of Robert Lowell's "Caligula" is a real tour de force). Curiously this whole section is, with the exception of the translations, in prose.

There is an air of news, of current events: everything seems very topical. It is as if Voznesensky is giving us a diary in verse. In this he resembles Lowell … whom he calls America's greatest poet. Both seem out to show that poetry, which communicates in ways other than prose, contributes to knowledge of...