Exercises 1950–1960 by Yannis Ritsos, translated by Spring Ulmer scottish 'By far the best British

'By far the best British poet alive' SPECTATOR

betraying a growing awareness of mortality and the many losses that come with age

He now lives in Oxford with his wife and daughters

’ – John Burnside

Exercises 1950–1960 by Yannis Ritsos, translated by Spring Ulmer scottish 'By far the best BritishPublished 1st November 2025. Yannis Ritsos wrote Exercises 19501960 after being tortured and detained during the Greek Civil War. Incredibly, the poems are filled not with bitterness but with amazementat a solitary leaf, a rope ladder, rose and grey light. Alongside such tenderness, of course, the nation state stretches out in the sun, teeth bared. What to say about the human condition? Not long after completing these poems, Ritsos was again