Primo Levi

Back, away from here, drowned people, go. I haven't stolen anyone's place' A selection of poetry from the author of If this is a Man and The Periodic Table. From the writer who bore witness to the twentieth century's darkest days, these verses of beauty and horror include the poem that inspired the title of his memoir, If This Is a Man.

The Survivor

Claudia

Learned about Primo Levi (and the scarcity of his poetry) from my favourite bookseller in HK, so naturally when I saw his (mini) poetry anthology up for grabs I had to go for it! Don’t be fooled by this tiny book - there’s so much to unpack + read for. I find that his poetry is a hit or miss - in my case, the first few poems were all misses, so I was pleasantly surprised when there were poems later on that I enjoyed (get up, monday, after RM Rilke, the glacier, autobiography). i find his literal poems/ poems that are directly related to the war are too raw for my liking (and maybe there are things that go missing in translation), but underlying the poems that are more metaphorical is a beautiful lyricism + deep understanding of the human condition (loneliness, ageing, feeling trapped, traumatic memories etc); and to think that he’s a chemist too! Can’t wait to check out his other work.

The Survivor

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