Three by Tsvetaeva by Tsvetaeva, Marina

Three by Tsvetaeva

Three of the legendary Russian dissident writer's greatest poems, two autobiographical and one based on a Russian...
$36.25 AUD
$36.25 AUD
SKU: 9781681378329
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 0 left in stock
Author: Marina Tsvetaeva
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: $36.25
10 customers are viewing this product
Three by Tsvetaeva by Tsvetaeva, Marina

Three by Tsvetaeva

$36.25

Three by Tsvetaeva

$36.25
Author: Marina Tsvetaeva
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Three of the legendary Russian dissident writer's greatest poems, two autobiographical and one based on a Russian folktale, now in a new, invigorating English translation.

The three poems in this collection, "Backstreets", "Poem of the Mountain" and "Poem of the End," were all written in the few short years spanning the period immediately preceding Tsvetaeva's move from the Soviet Union to Prague in 1922. "Poem of the Mountain" and "Poem of the End" are generally considered some of her finest poems and have been translated widely; "Backstreets," initially dismissed by Russian readers as nigh unintelligible, is almost unknown in English. Andrew Davis's translation is a first, and it reveals the poem in all in its emotional intensity and poetic pyrotechnics as among Tsvetaeva's greatest achievements.

"Poem of the Mountain" and "Poem of the End" both concern the end of an affair. "Backsteets," by contrast, is a retelling of the Russian folk-tale of Dobrynya and Marinka. It is a very free retelling, however. In the original story a hero (Dobrynya) is seduced by a witch (Marinka) and turned into an aurochs, the extinct European ancestor to modern cattle. Marinka is then forced by Dobrynya's sister, herself possessed of magic powers, to restore Dobrynya to his original form. This she does, though at the same time extorting from him a promise to marry her in exchange for the restoration. He marries her, but murders her on their wedding night. Almost none of this makes it into "Backstreets," though the poem does retain the sense of magic and menace of the original. What is actually being described, is, beneath everything, a remarkable description of a highly charged erotic encounter. The poem is the clearest expression of Tsvetaeva's understanding of love and its possibilities.

Davis's versions of Osip Mandelstam's Voronezh Notebooks have been widely admired. Here he brings his talents as poet and translator to the work of a Russian poet whose achievement has loomed ever larger with the years.

Author: Marina Tsvetaeva
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Published: 08/06/2024
Pages: 96
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.81lbs
ISBN: 9781681378329

About the Author
Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941) was born in Moscow and published her first book of poems at seventeen. Tsvetaeva left Russia in 1922 with her two children and her husband, Sergei Efron, who fought against the Red Army in the 1918-1921 Civil War but was later to become a Soviet spy. Often living from hand to mouth, the family remained abroad until 1939. Two years later, after the execution of her husband and the arrest of her daughter, Tsvetaeva committed suicide. Along with numerous lyrics, her works include several extraordinary long poems, among them The Poem of the End, The Poem of the Mountain, and The Ratcatcher.

Andrew Davis is a poet, cabinetmaker, and visual artist. His current project is the long poem IMPLUVIUM. He divides his time between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the north coast of Spain.

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Related Products

Recently Viewed Products