For many years, I belonged to a reading group who explored different angles of diversity in literature; Michelangelo's poetry was one of the books we used, as it gave us the opportunity to explore different aspects at the same time. How would someone whose creative genius in some media (painting, sculpture, architecture) made him an immortal in history translate onto the written page? Would Michelangelo's sexual orientation, always a topic of debate based upon various images in paint and stone, as well as personal stories and correspondence, be more observable, or more obscured by his poetry?

Gilbert presents a very good volume of Michelangelo's poetry - coupled with selected letters, this gives a good insight into the spirit of Michelangelo beyond the visual artistic productions. The poems are translated into verse form, not a choppy word-for-word translation, and there are notes that are helpful without being distracting.

Gilbert begins with a brief biographical essay, exploring Michelangelo's artistry and relationships - so far as his poetry is concerned, he was not widely published in his lifetime, but did have some poems circulated, and sought the critical analysis and advice of other respected literary figures of the day. Michelangelo's poetry was known well enough to become the subject of composition (Bartolommeo Tromboncino set one poem to music) and general reference (Benedetto Varchi, when lecturing on artistic theory, used Michelangelo's poetry as examples).

Michelangelo's grand-nephew, in publishing the poems in 1623, changed phrases and pronouns to make the poems conform to standard conventions - men would not be writing love poems to men, etc., and this change continued into the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries unquestioned. This, however, is not a major theme in this volume.

With regard to the quality of the poems, Michelangelo's literary output was less admired for its aesthetic and technical value as much as for the ideas contained therein. Even here, Michelangelo's ideas were fairly conventional, common among the educated literati, and rarely giving profound insight. Even so, his poetry was artful, technically interesting if not brilliant, and full of emotion as Michelangelo was known to be.

The poetry here is full of passion; the early ones full of the kind of love and passion of a young lover; the later ones looking for a spiritual value and perfection unattainable in this world even with the chisel or brush or Michelangelo. He incorporates a kind of Neoplatonic admiration of the ideal over the physical, and has a sort of pessimism even in the height of passion. He often looks upon the body as frail, fragile, a 'temporary wrapper for the soul' - this contrasts dramatically against his visual art, particularly sculpture, where the powerful bodies (most often male) were Michelangelo's 'signature'.

Michelangelo did not study Latin, so classical references are less here than more common contemporary influences. There are many magnificent lines and phrases here; I found my highlighter coming out numerous times throughout the poetry, and certain images remaining for a long time. This is interesting reading, all the more so given the other creations of Michelangelo - this book gives new insight into the mind of the great artist.

For anyone interested in the full life of Michelangelo this is a must read. The editor is quite helpful without being overbearing in his attempt to put the material into a context. There is a short but very nice biography at the beginning which helps the reader understand the flow of the artist's life. The selection of his personal letters helps us see Michelangelo as a person, a person with substantial family and business difficulties which constantly tried to divert his attention. His poetry is delightful and revealing. A valuable text for anyone interested in his life, art, or era.

"It is better to remain silent than to fall from the heights"

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