“If the English reader could have some Tennyson, Lamartine, and Wordsworth in the same poetic bag, maybe he would have a first glimpse of what Verdaguer's accomplishments were like. Popular roots, crystal clear sincerity, rhetorical command of verse and topics are, in this extraordinary Catalan poet, at the service of the astounding risorgimento of one of the oldest and richest Romance literatures. Add to his poetry his immense popularity, his tragic and torn religious life, and you would have a hint of Verdaguer's enormous relevance.”

“Selected Poems of Jacint Verdaguer fulfills several needs: it makes available in English and Catalan a broad range of the voluminous work of the poet-priest from Vic. Beginning with his epic poetry, which can be usefully compared to the Long Poem or Canto tradition from other cultures, such as works by Pound, Walcott, Grahn, and Neruda, the selection includes many styles and themes, from lyric to mystic songs. The translations are masterful, capturing both content and form in beautifully rendered American English verse, and will enable scholars to give Catalan its place among late 19th-century literatures.”

“The University of Chicago Press and Professor Puppo are to be congratulated on this fine volume of poetry by Catalonia’s favorite poet-priest. . . . The translations are masterful; capturing both content and form in beautifully rendered American English verse and will enable scholars to give Catalan its place among late-nineteenth-century literatures.”