Dark Night of the Body showcases Jorge Eduardo Eielson's poetic abilities at the peak of his powers. Hidden for years in the silence of a drawer, these poems were written in Rome in 1955 but only published in their definitive form in 1989. Querying the poet's deepest identities, this collection reflects on the precariousness of the body by dismantling its materiality. Eielson guides us simultaneously through pleasure, pain, and play, as he redefines the limits of his biological condition, gender, and political/poetical pronouncements. Brilliantly translated by Shook, this bilingual edition of Dark Night of the Body proves essential to understanding the life and work of one of the twentieth century's most important artists.