Mario Stefani was born in Venice in 1938, and love for his native city is the hallmark of his poetry. "If Venice had no bridge" (he writes in one of his Epigrams) "Europe would be an island." Boys, the lifeblood of a dying Venezia, provide a unifying theme.
A scholarly man, with University honors and many important literary prizes to his name, Stefani has published twelve books of poetry. Some are in Venetian dialect and all having enduring charm. They are characterized by a limpid clarity of expression – a deceptive simplicity.
Like Japanese haiku, his poems often encapsulate much in tiny compass. With how few bush-strokes he can bring alive for us Campo San Giacomo, his own beloved square. The magic and music of such verses, their haunting nostalgia, are all too often lost in the translation.
This version does not claim to be the exception, although the translator enjoyed many advantages. A former interpreter, Anthony Reid lived for many years in Italy. He knows Venice well, is a friend of Stefani and has secured the poet's warm approval for this book.
Superb Linocuts by J. Martin Pitts are an outstanding feature of this project. Apart from two small blocks on the cover of the book, there are 10 full-page pictures and one double-page image on the endpapers.