Yevtushenko : Selected Poems

by Yevtushenko, Yevgeny; Milner-Gulland, Robin; Milner-Gulland, Robin; Levi, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780140424775
• ISBN10: 0140424776
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-26
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

This volume contains a selection of early works by Yevgeny Alexandrovich Yevtushenko (b. 1933), who blazed a trail for a generation of Soviet poets with a confident poetic voice that moves effortlessly between social and personal themes. 'Zima Junction' vividly describes his idyllic childhood in Siberia and his impressions of home after a long absence in Moscow. Private moments are captured in 'Waking', on the joys of discovering the unexpected in a lover, and 'Birthday', on a mothers concern for her son, while 'Encounter' depicts an unexpected meeting with Hemingway in Copenhagen. 'The Companion' and 'Party Card' show war from a child's eye, whether playing while oblivious to German bombs falling nearby or discovering a fatally wounded soldier in the forest, while Yevtushenko's famous poem, 'Babiy Yar, is an angry expose of the Nazi massacre of the Jews of Kiev.

Author Biography

Yevgeny Yevtushenko (b.1933) is a Russian poet, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, and actor. He is credited with originating the policy of perestroika and continues to speak out against political abuses in Russia.

Robin Milner-Gulland is a professor of Russian and Eastern European studies at the University of Sussex.

Peter Levi (1931-û2000) was a professor of poetry at Oxford.

Table of Contents

Zima Junction	p. 19
Lies	p. 52
Visit	p. 53
Waking	p. 55
The Companion	p. 57
Weddings	p. 59
On a Bicycle	p. 61
Later	p. 64
In Georgia	p. 65
Waiting	p. 67
The Knights	p. 68
Schoolmaster	p. 69
Birthday	p. 71
Party Card	p. 72
Murder!	p. 74
Koshueti	p. 76
Colours	p. 77
Gentleness	p. 78
Encounter	p. 79
Talk	p. 81
Babiy Yar	p. 82
People	p. 85
Notes on the Poems	p. 87
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Lies
Telling lies to the young is wrong
Proving to them that lies are true is wrong.
Telling them that God's in his heaven
and all's well with the world is wrong.
The young people know what you mean. The young are people.
Tell them the difficulties can't be counted,
and let them see not only what will be
but see with clarity these present times.
Say obstacles exist they must encounter
sorrow happens, hardship happens.
The hell with it. Who never knew
the price of happiness will not be happy.
Forgive no error you recognize,
it will repeat itself, increase,
and afterward our pupils
will not forgive in us what we forgave.