{"product_id":"the-book-of-things","title":"The Book of Things","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the 2011 Best Translated Book of the Year Award\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Winner of the 2011 Award for The Best Literary Translation into English from the AATSEEL\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslated from the Polish with an Introduction by Brian Henry\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom his first book of poems, \u003cem\u003eChessboards of Hours\u003c\/em\u003e, published in 1995 when he was 22 years old, Aleš Šteger has been considered one of \u003cplace\u003eSlovenia\u003c\/place\u003e’s most promising poets. That promise has been unleashed over the course of a decade and a half, through three more books of poetry (\u003cem\u003eKashmir\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eProtuberances\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Book of Things\u003c\/em\u003e), a fictional travelogue in Peru (January in the Middle of Summer), and a collection of lyric essays (\u003cstate\u003e\u003cplace w:st=\"on\"\u003eBerlin\u003c\/place\u003e\u003c\/state\u003e), which received an award for being the best book of essays written in Slovenian. The philosophical and lyrical sophistication of his poems, along with his work as a leading book editor and festival organizer, earned Šteger a reputation that quickly traveled beyond the borders of \u003cplace\u003eSlovenia\u003c\/place\u003e. The international reach of his work seems appropriate considering its international concerns and refusal to acknowledge limits to, or boundaries of, art, thought, and even genre. Although grounded in and growing from his home country, Šteger’s work in multiple genres and on many fronts testifies to his growing stature as one of \u003cplace\u003eCentral Europe\u003c\/place\u003e’s most essential literary figures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“\u003c\/span\u003eShovel\u003cspan\u003e”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe workers left. Your best friend\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eStopped alone in the middle of a half-scraped plot.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAs if she would want to work without a break.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eShe already dug up so much of the world, not seeing\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThat the soil does not end beneath the soil\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAnd that the deeper the dig, the harder it is for a little shovel.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWill she dig up some insight?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eButterflies’ bones, coins of saliva, the tongue of a mute?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIs her calling her only purpose?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eSo that she distracts herself on quiet evenings,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eLike one who stares at eh thickening darkness through a window,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWhich stares through the thickening darkness in oneself.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch6\u003ePublication Date: October 19, 2010\u003cbr\u003eISBN:\u003cstrong\u003e 978-1-934414-41-5\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/h6\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e© BOA Editions, Ltd. 2010\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BOA Editions, Ltd.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":8420112389,"sku":"9781934414415","price":16.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0982\/0178\/products\/TheBookofThings.jpg?v=1527683360","url":"https:\/\/shop.boaeditions.org\/products\/the-book-of-things","provider":"Boa Editions","version":"1.0","type":"link"}