Book excerpt: A remarkable anthology of Berg's translations representing his unique method of mingling his own poetic sensibility with the poets, thus retaining the profound music of the works. The collected poems, taken from more literal English translations, explore visions from Nahuatl religious chants, Eskimo songs, and Zen traditions as well as European, Latin American, and Russian offerings including Sappho, Rimbaud, Radnoti, Mayakovsky, Tsvetayeva, Annensky, and Paz. Includes short essays detailing the history of the translations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR