Collected Poems

The book comprises the former editions 'Shema' and 'At an Uncertain Hour' as well as eighteen previously uncollected poems. The poems combine a sometimes distanced stance with a very intimate and poignant emotion. Levi manages to capture a sense of the futility of life in the face of evil; the fact that he survived the Holocaust when so many others did not haunts him throughout the collection. 'Unfinished Business', written a few years before his sudden death, describes a man preparing his boss for a note of resignation. He leaves unfinished business - a kiss, a neglected client, an unwritten book that would alleviate all fear and doubts. The innumerable duties and joys of life that can never be completed because this is a man encompassed by the guilt of survival. 'Monday'(1946)moves from the image of a train with only one route and one direction, to the horse whose vision is blocked by shafts on wither side, to the man who lives in solitude, believing time has run its course. The stanzas are short and bleak. But there is profound depth to the brevity. I haven't read them all - I only bought the book today and read it on the train home, but so far, it looks like an important volume and I recommend it.