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Writing by Alta Ifland

March 2010

Critic John Taylor explores the work of Alta Ifland and introduces two of her multilingual poems.

The Languages of Alta Ifland

Alta Ifland’s writing raises important questions about the legitimacy and practice of autobiography that are too often taken for granted by American writers.

A photo of dark clouds over a town.

[Cloud study]; Unknown maker, French; about 1860–1870; Albumen silver print. Public domain; courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Bilingual Poem avec Clichés

Danse avec moi baby under the stormy sky

Trilingual Poem with Dead Swans

Dead swans on purple waters