Remember Me, God of Love: Selected Poems and Prose by Sandro Penna
Literary maverick, frank homosexual, the Italian poet Sandro Penna led a catch-as-catch-can life. His muse was Eros, his genius lay in giving to poetry the ease and clarity of popular song. The first comprehensive English translation of Penna's work, "Remember Me, God of Love" includes material published posthumously and examples of his prose which illuminate the poems. The collection makes clear why Eugenio Montale called Penna a "peer', Natalia Ginzburg a "genius" and Pier Paolo Pasolini "the best poet of his generation". Since his death in 1977, his reputation has grown in Italy and abroad. 'These poems are in the kernel parables, attesting to a mad but astounding truth,' wrote Pier Paolo Pasolini.