Nina Cassian

Take My Word for It

A long-awaited collection—her first written in English—by Romania's leading literary figure for over fifty years, and one of the world's most important voices.

Ars Poetica: a Polemic

I am I.
I am personal.
I am subjective, intimate, private, particular,
confessional.
All that happens,
happens to me.
The landscape I describe
is myself. . . .
If you're interested
in birds, trees, rivers,
try reference books.
Don't read my poems.
I'm no indexed bird,
tree or river,
just a registered Self.

"A writer at the peak of her power."—Stanley Kunitz