[In the following review, Müller-Bergh gives a favorable evaluation of a German translation of Drummond's poetry.]

Rio de Janeiro's literary establishment commemorated Carlos Drummond de Andrade's eightieth birthday (31 October 1982) with an early present, “Drummond 80 Anos,” a special issue of the literary section of the Jornal do Brasil (2 October 1982). His neighbors in Copacabana painted an abstract, stylized green, yellow and blue (the colors of the Brazilian flag) people's rose on the asphalt square in front of the apartment house where he lives, at the corner of Rainha Elizabeth and Conselheiro Lafaiette. The Italians published Drummond: 80 anni, a special volume of Letterature d'America: Revista Trimestrale Brasiliana (3:13, 1982); and the Germans brought out a new, updated anthology of his work, first translated in 1965 and now possibly the best, most comprehensive introductory volume in any language. It is a fitting European tribute to the universality of the greatest living Latin American poet (see World Literature Today 53:1, pp. 16-18), whose oeuvre in Portuguese towers beside that of Spanish-speaking counterparts such as César Vallejo, Vicente Huidobro and Pablo Neruda.

Curt Meyer-Clason's objective in his large bilingual (Portuguese and German) selection from the Brazilian poet's writings is to follow a strict chronological order, while also trying to reflect the variety of themes which have already characterized Drummond's work. As such, it brings representative pieces from sixteen collections, ranging from Alguma poesia (Some Poetry; 1925-30), to A rosa do povo (The Rose of the People; 1943-45), to Lição de coisas (Lesson of Things; 1959-62), to Paixão medida (Measured Passion; 1980). Included in the notes is a letter dated 19 October 1981, in which Drummond makes some revealing observations on the criteria used in making the selections for this edition: “I hesitate to give an opinion on what should be included and what should be omitted in this second anthology for German readers, but it does not seem necessary to emphasize representative poems that convey any one particular mode of being. I would give preference to those pieces which seek to express a reality, a truth or a feeling common to any reader, of any country or culture—that is, to poems seeking to communicate universal perceptions.”

While the North American public may not necessarily share the preferences or the cultural views of European readers—and two poems such as “America” and “Visão 1944” might conceivably evoke different receptions in the Old and the New World—anyone interested in fine literature will undoubtedly profit from the informed, sensitive selection here, spanning a distinguished literary career of over sixty-two years. Meyer-Clason's lucid epilogue, a succinct study by itself, shows that the critic is well aware of the problems and pitfalls inherent in the thankless art of translation. In addition, he is thoroughly familiar with Drummond's work and the modernist movement in Brazil. For this reason his German versions of the original Portuguese ring true and are invaluable for the reader with an imperfect command of the language. Explanatory notes as well as a bibliography of Drummond's prose and poetry complete the volume. To my knowledge there is nothing as comprehensive and well documented available to readers of English to date, a fact that should soon be remedied. Elizabeth Bishop's outstanding Anthology of Brazilian Literature would indicate there is no lack of talent in the old as well as the new galaxy of North American poets. The discipline of translating one of the finest Latin American voices of the twentieth century might well be worth their while.