'Lorca brought an understanding of the paradox that was Spain - sensuality chafing under a rigid moral code, individual desire at war with tradition.' Manuel DuranFederico García Lorca is perhaps the most celebrated of all twentieth-century Spanish writers, known not only for his plays but also for several collections of poems published both in his short lifetime and after. Lorca's poetry is steeped in the land, climate, and folklore of his native Andalusia, though he writes memorably of New York and Cuba too. Often in modernist idiom, and full of startling imagery, he evokes a world of intense feelings, silent suffering, and dangerous love.

This selection balances poems from Lorca's early collections with his better-known work to give a clear vision of his poetic development. Martin Sorrell's accomplished translations are complemented by D. Gareth Walters's shrewd Introduction, with its distinctive focus on the achievements of the poet.