Critics include Orelli among the so-called post-hermetic poets, aligning him with one of Italy's most distinctive literary schools: the Linea Lombarda. Orelli's poetry, however, eludes pigeonholing. The phonosymbolism enveloping his verse, combined with sharpness of observation, elegance of diction, and irony of tone, make his poetry distinctive and exacting. Readers, scholars and translators are enticed and challenged at every word. This anthology the first in English charts Orelli's poetic journey from his debut collection in 1944 to the last poems written shortly before his death. Selected and introduced by Orelli's foremost scholar, Pietro De Marchi, and translated and annotated by two award-winning translators, Marco Sonzogni and Ross Woods, Pondering the Weight of Being brings to English-speaking readers a major poet.