It Was Easy to Set the Snow on Fire collects poems from Serbian poet Zvonko Karanovic’s entire oeuvre, translated by Ana Božicevic. Karanovic is “a counter-cultural icon [who] writes in a vivid, sophisticated vernacular of desire and transcendence amid cultural and political change” (PEN Translation Fund Advisory Board). He has traveled widely throughout Europe, hitchhiking and often changing jobs, including owning a music store for 13 years. For many years he has been an underground cult figure and a seminal influence on a generation of younger poets.

Translated by: Ana Boicevic