Octavio Paz a distinguished philosopher, anthropologist, critic, and poet. A native of Mexico, Mr. Paz insisted that poetry be its own voice, not the voice of ideology. For him poetry was not the voice of history or an anti-history, it was not the voice of propaganda and it was not the servile voice of something else. Poetry for Octavio Paz, was poetry and had a voice that was distinct throughout all of history and did not serve history.

       The Lotus Sutra is perhaps one of the most respected, loved, cherished sutras throughout much of the world.  It has through its numerous translations been able to survive for an incredibly long period of time in a variety of formats.  The inclusion of two additional sutras in the The Threefold Lotus Sutra tends to be the majority way of presenting the text.  Three translators and three additional editors worked on this particular translation volume.

    Historically, Virgil's Aeneid has ranked among the greatest books composed in the literature of any tongue whatsoever. The idea of "epic poetry" in many minds around the world includes other greats such as Homer, Dante, Milton, Lord Byron (Don Juan), Edmund Spenser, Luis de Camõis (The Lusiads), Elias Lönnrot (The Kalevala, the Finnish epic poem compiled by Mr. Lonnrot in the 19th century). In the American English translation of Robert Fagles, readers unfamiliar with Latin will find perhaps a fresh perspective of Virgil's Roman/Italian national epic.