Luljeta Lleshanaku belongs to the first "post-totalitarian" generation of Albanian poets. In Haywire she turns to the fallout of her country's past and its relation to herself and her family. Through intense, powerful lyrics, she explores how these histories intertwine and influence her childhood memories and the retelling of her family's stories. Sorrow, death, imprisonment, and desire are some of the themes that echo deeply in Lleshanaku's beautiful poems. Poetry Book Society Recommended Translation.

Translated by: Henry Israeli, Shpresa Qatapi, Luljeta Lleshanaku