This book of poems about the sense of grief that sometimes affects people is compelling, painful and cathartic...Sosa's book helped me, as a physician, to deal with what I've seen.

This book of poems about the sense of grief that sometimes affects people is compelling, painful, and cathartic. Sosa's book helped me to deal with what I've seen as a doctor.

"Poems by Roberto Sosa" is a fine collection by an important writer from Honduras. The poems have been translated into English by Edward V. Coughlin. The book is presented in bilingual format, with the Spanish originals and English versions on facing pages.

Sosa's work shows great compassion for the poor and oppressed, especially in poems like "The Poor," "Three Shadows Reversed in the Mirror," "The People," and others. His language is frequently direct and uncluttered, and sometimes surreal and cryptic. He often uses striking images, such as the following: "May there be children who have toys, / bread / and stars under their shoes" (from "The City of the Beggar Children").

Sosa's voice can be prophetic (see, for example, "Testimonies"), and can evoke the style of Walt Whitman ("The Grass Cut by the Peasants"). This is an important volume for those interested in Latin American poetry.