A review by ele_b
The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry by Irina Mashinski, Boris Dralyuk, Robert Chandler
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].