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CHOICE Review

Zurita's work stretches the limits of poetry, extending its boundaries to distances as far-reaching as the length of Chile itself. In pursuit of concreteness the author composes an unexpected assortment of visual stimuli-drawings, photographs, mathematical configurations, and electro- encephalograms. These images, which at times border on the esoteric, explore the purgatory of existence in its psychological, spiritual, and political contexts. The time frame enclosed by these poems covers a pivotal epoch in the life of his nation, the period of the Allende government and the early post-Allende years. Zurita's quest for redemption results in a sustained poetic sequence of great power and beauty on the Atacama Desert, a spiritual exercise that recalls the experience of fellow poet and countryman Pablo Neruda at Machu Picchu. Scott Jackson's essay on the poet's use of mathematical concepts offers a valid approach and serves as a helpful introduction to this formidable collection. Jacobson's translation closely adheres to the original text without being literal-minded. A significant work by a young Latin American poet in ascendance. Appropriate for graduate students, upper-division undergraduates, and general readers.-M.S. Arrington Jr., University of Mississippi