Erich Fried was one of modern Austrian literature's most complex and controversial figures: a Jewish survivor of Nazi persecution who was opposed to the policies of the Israeli government and sympathetic to the Palestinians; a German-language poet who objected to many of the actions of the West German government; a Marxist who disapproved of the practice of Marxism. Primarily known as a lyric poet, Fried published more than twenty-five collections of verse, and from 1963 until his death in 1988 scarcely a year passed without the appearance of at least one volume of poetry. Although not all of his poetry is of high quality, his best work is among the most distinguished contemporary Austrian verse. His linguistic virtuosity, manifested in his mastery of sophisticated wordplay, is unexcelled. But it is his leftist political stance that has attracted the most attention and stirred up the most controversy. Whereas the political messages...