Art in the Light of Conscience: Eight Essays on Poetry - Couverture rigide

Tsvetaeva, M

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0674048024 ISBN 13 : 9780674048027

Editeur : Harvard University Press, 1992

Synopsis

In the Soviet Union, as in the West, Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) is acknowledged to be one of the great Russian poets of the century, along with Mandelstam, Pasternak and Akhmatova. Overnight sensation and oft-times pariah, Tsvetaeva was a poet of extraordinary intensity whose work continues to be discovered by new readers. Yet, while she is considered to be one of the major influences on modern Soviet poetry, few know of her consummate gifts as a writer of prose. These select essays, most of which have never been available in translation before, display the dazzlingly original prose style and the powerful, dialogic voice of a poet who would like to make art's mystery accessible without diminishing it. The essays provide incomparable insight on poetry, the poetic process, and what it means to be a poet. The volume offers, among many fascinating topics, a celebration of the poetry of Pasternak and reflections on the lives and works of other Russian poets, such as Mandelstam, Mayakovsky, and Zhukovsky. Included in this richly diverse collection are the essays "The Poet on the Critic, " which earned Tsvetaeva the enmity of many, "Art in the Light of Conscience, " a spirited defense of poetry, and "The Poet and Time, " seen by many scholars as providing the key to understanding Tsvetaeva's work. The immense power and originality of Tsvetaeva's language, captured by Angela Livingstone's superb translation of the essays along with twelve of Tsvetaeva's poems on related themes, is testimony to why the Tsvetaev revival in the Soviet Union and interest in the West continue to gain momentum as the centenary of her birth approaches. The volume is made complete by the addition of an elegantintroduction by the translator, a chronology of Tsvetaeva's life, and an index of contemporary poets and writers mentioned in the essays.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

TRANSLATED BY ANGELA LIVINGSTONE. Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) was one of the four great Russian poets of the 20th century, along with Akhmatova, Mandelstam and Pasternak. She also wrote outstanding prose. Endowed with 'phenomenally heightened linguistic sensitivity' (Joseph Brodsky), Tsvetaeva was primarily concerned with the nature of poetic creation and what it means to be a poet. Among the most exciting of all explorations of this theme are the essays 'Art in the Light of Conscience', her spirited defence of poetry; 'The Poet on the Critic', which earned her the enmity of many; and 'The Poet and Time', the key to understanding her work. Her richly diverse essays provide incomparable insights into poetry, the poetic process, and what it means to be a poet. This book includes, among many fascinating topics, a celebration of the poetry of Pasternak ('Downpour of Light') and reflections on the lives and works of other Russian poets, such as Mandelstam and Mayakovsky, as well as a magnificent study of Zhukovsky's translation of Goethe's 'Erlking'. Even during periods of extreme personal hardship, her work retained its sense of elated energy and humour, and Angela Livingstone's translations bring the English-speaking reader as close as possible to Tsvetaeva's inimitable voice. First published in English in 1992, "Art in the Light of Conscience" includes an introduction by the translator, textual notes and a glossary, as well as revised translations of 12 poems by Tsvetaeva on poets and poetry.

Revue de presse

'For me, there are no essays on poetry as unique, as profound, as passionate, as inspiring as these. "Art, a series of answers to which there are no questions," Tsvetaeva brilliantly asserts, and then goes on to ask questions we didn't know existed until she offered them to us, and answers to some of poetry's most enduring mysteries.' --- C.K. Williams

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Harvard University Press
• Date d'édition: 1992
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0674048024
• ISBN 13: 9780674048027
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 200
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible