The first comprehensive English translation of a Russian-Jewish masters poetry, from the fiery poems he wrote in the wake of the pogroms of the early 20th century to his sublime lyrics about longing and self-reflection. nOn the Slaughter, named for Bialiks most famous poem, also includes a sample of the poets work for children and an impassioned introduction by the collections translator, MacArthur winner Peter Cole. n nFew poets in the history of Hebrew have possessed the power and prescience of Hayim Nahman Bialik. Born in 1873 in a small Ukrainian village, he spent his most productive years in Odessa and in his fifties made his way to British Mandatory Palestine. He died in Vienna in 1934. n nBialiks body of work opened a path from the traditional Jewish world of Eastern Europe into a more expansive Jewish humanism. In a line that stretches back to the Bible and the Hebrew poetry of Muslim and Christian Spain, he stands out--in the words of Maxim Gorky--as a modern Isaiah. To this day he remains an iconic and shockingly relevant poet, essayist, and tutelary spirit. n nTranslated and introduced by MacArthur-winning poet Peter Cole, On the Slaughter presents Bialik for the first time in English as a masterful artist, someone far more politically and psychologically unsettling than his reputation as the national poet of the Jewish people might suggest. This compact collection offers readers a panoramic view of Bialiks inner and outer landscapes: his visionary poems of wrath respond in startling fashion to the devastations of pogroms and a Jewish community in crisis, while his quietly sublime lyrics of longing, doubt, and withering self-assessment bring us into the silence at the heart of his art. The volume also includes a sampling of slyly sophisticated verse for children, and a moving introduction that bridges Bialiks moment and our own.n