snoakes7001's review against another edition
I've been trying to get into poetry a bit, but for me this was just a step too far. After over a year I've finally accepted that I won't pick it up again and given up. More my fault than the book's though.
100reads's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Beautiful 🤩. Russian literature is just on another level. Will reread.
mog261's review
4.5
great book. learned about lots of russian poets that i'd never heard of before, presented in an insightful and interesting way with detailed biographies.
ele_b's review
5.0
4.5 stars. I'm pretty sure there might be better translations than featured here, though these are still very good. Translating poetry is one of the most difficult things one can do.
There aren't as many female poets as I would have liked (no anthology ever gives a good-size portion, sadly), but it does include what we could call a 'Russian Sappho', [a:Sofia Parnok|14437152|Sofia Parnok|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. It does not include [a:Anna Petrovna Bunina|15883951|Anna Petrovna Bunina|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], of which was their first published female poet.
It is separated largely centered on [a:Alexander Pushkin|16070|Alexander Pushkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207346296p2/16070.jpg], being separated in the chapters 'Around Puskin' and 'After Pushkin'. It gives brief biographies of each poet and also has a timeline. There are some quite intriguing pieces of unexpected Russian history. For example, Pushkin was mixed-race, his great-grandfather the slave-turned-adoptive son of Peter the Great. And the Russian people seem to be more in touch with nature, these poems make it seem.
One can browse through and choose poets that capture their interest. I am especially interested in [a:Velimir Khlebnikov|93579|Velimir Khlebnikov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264631855p2/93579.jpg] and [a:Boris Slutsky|1106111|Boris Slutsky|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and am intrigued in the animal protection poetry of [a:Vladimir Mayakovsky|4452588|Vladimir Mayakovsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1465447624p2/4452588.jpg] and others. This book also contains [a:Leo Tolstoy|128382|Leo Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1558279485p2/128382.jpg]'s cousin [a:Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy|261569|Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1350484583p2/261569.jpg] and the novelist [a:Boris Pasternak|7902|Boris Pasternak|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422699346p2/7902.jpg].
There aren't as many female poets as I would have liked (no anthology ever gives a good-size portion, sadly), but it does include what we could call a 'Russian Sappho', [a:Sofia Parnok|14437152|Sofia Parnok|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. It does not include [a:Anna Petrovna Bunina|15883951|Anna Petrovna Bunina|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], of which was their first published female poet.
It is separated largely centered on [a:Alexander Pushkin|16070|Alexander Pushkin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207346296p2/16070.jpg], being separated in the chapters 'Around Puskin' and 'After Pushkin'. It gives brief biographies of each poet and also has a timeline. There are some quite intriguing pieces of unexpected Russian history. For example, Pushkin was mixed-race, his great-grandfather the slave-turned-adoptive son of Peter the Great. And the Russian people seem to be more in touch with nature, these poems make it seem.
One can browse through and choose poets that capture their interest. I am especially interested in [a:Velimir Khlebnikov|93579|Velimir Khlebnikov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264631855p2/93579.jpg] and [a:Boris Slutsky|1106111|Boris Slutsky|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and am intrigued in the animal protection poetry of [a:Vladimir Mayakovsky|4452588|Vladimir Mayakovsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1465447624p2/4452588.jpg] and others. This book also contains [a:Leo Tolstoy|128382|Leo Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1558279485p2/128382.jpg]'s cousin [a:Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy|261569|Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1350484583p2/261569.jpg] and the novelist [a:Boris Pasternak|7902|Boris Pasternak|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1422699346p2/7902.jpg].
italo_carlvino's review
5.0
I adore this collection. I’ve read it on and off for the past couple of months and I’ll definitely keep it with me to keep reading through it. I love the poets in here. Especially Krylov, Pushkin (dug), Shalamov, Fet, Mandelstam, Pasternak, Akhmatova, and many more.
caity23444gmailcom's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this collection. I have no idea why there aren't as many reviews for it. The structure of this was brilliant, it was so amazing to have a short biography of the poet to make you aware of the historical context of their writing. The translations were beautiful and extensive notes provided at the back were really helpful. I really wish more people were aware of this collection and I've found a fair few poets that I want to explore more of their work.
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