Soy Realidad

At last available in English translation, Soy Realidad is Toma? ?alamun's twenty-first collection of poetry, originally published in 1985. Showing a maturing poet at home as a citizen of the world, Soy Realidad ranges far from ?alamun's Slovenia, combining his native language with Latin, French, English, and Spanish, as well as evoking such places as Belize, the Sierra Nevada, and Mexico City. From sex to God, from landscape to literature, ?alamun's poetry is as ever a restless and witty inquisitor, peeling back the layers of the world.

Slovenian poet Toma? ?alamun was born in 1941 in Zagreb. He has published over thirty books of poetry and frequently teaches at American universities, including Pittsburgh, Richmond, and Texas. Early in his career he edited the literary magazine Perspektive and was briefly jailed on political charges. He studied art history at the University of Ljubljana and published his first collection, Poker, at the age of 25. He has won Slovenia's Pre?eren and Mladost Prizes, as well as a Pushcart Prize. ?alamun was a Fulbright Fellow at Columbia University, and he is a member of the Slovenian Academy of Science and Art.