The Dictatorship of Poetry: Poems in Georgian by Zurab Rtveliashvili

The Dictatorship of Poetry is the first translation into English of a major collection of work by the celebrated Georgian poet, performer and human rights activitist, Zurab Rtveliashvili. This collection includes both poems written before his emigration to Sweden and more recent work completed since.

Zurab Rtveliashvili’s poetry is avant-garde, full of linguistic and sonic experiments, at the same time highlighting and reflecting on key socio-political issues whilst preserving the dynamism of his poetry. According to Zurab Rtveliashvili, today’s reality means we are all living in a world dominated by a verbal industry which labels everything according to a special code. With his unique poetic process, Zurab Rtveliashvili breaks free from these shackles and shows his readers how language can go far beyond simple alphabetical notations and grammatical norms.

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