These poems are brilliant and inspiring because they were written by a socialist. They were written to make you think about the system.

Questions by a Worker Who Reads is one of my favourite poems. The freeways, offices, electricity system and everything else in our civilization were not built by politicians or company executives - they were built by workers.

Bertolt Brecht has acquired the same status as those other artists whose work is known, but not appreciated. Like Faulkner, Joyce and Proust, he has become transmuted into an adjective; even worse, he has followers who describe themselves as "Brechtian" and who are happy to discuss his theories of drama instead of the dramas themselves. But things get even worse when you get closer to the man himself, for there is a wealth of evidence that "der arme B.B." was, in fact, a conscienceless thief who stole credit from everyone with whom he worked and, in particular, from the women he charmed into professional and emotional liaisons. Add to this his craven attitude towards Stalin, and his theories of epic theater seem to be, at the very least, a gross exercise in self-deception. All very off-putting. But his poetry is a different matter. Brecht approaches the reader without the arrogance of a theorist interested in instructing the audience how to think. He is more candid, both personally and politically, willing to condemn his own weaknesses and, in his later years, those of the movement that he had defended at any cost. And, most importantly, his poetry is fresh, direct, cutting and beautiful, even in translation. This is a volume that those who are interested in writing poetry should have.

This is worth studying German. The lovliest Love Poem (Was es ist) I've ever read in my life. Give it a try, you'll love it!

Erich Fried's poetry is strong and calm. For those not able to read it in German I very much recommend this collection of his poems, "Love Poems", which has both the original German and the English translation on opposing pages. (Those fluent in German, may want to have this book so that they share the poems with their English speaking friends - while enjoying the poems in their original language)

Fried's work is not only deeply personal but often also very political. His language is simple and effective. Stuart Hood's translation is true to the original tone.

Highly recommended.