Description
Book SynopsisKonstantin Batyushkov was one of the great poets of the Golden Age of Russian literature. Peter France interweaves Batyushkov’s life and writings, presenting masterful new translations of his work with the compelling story of Batyushkov’s career as a soldier, diplomat, and poet and his tragic decline into mental illness at the age of thirty-four.
Trade ReviewFor fans of Russian poetry, and especially for Russophone poets, Batyushkov (1787–1855) is a vital figure who wrote exquisite verse and helped to usher in what is known as the Golden Age of Russian poetry.
. . . Writings from the Golden Age of Russian Poetry interweaves translations of poetry (plus excerpts from prose essays and personal letters) with history and biography. . . . Poets and general readers should appreciate this volume as much as teachers and scholars who can now quote elegant translations. -- Sibelan Forrester * Los Angeles Review of Books *
Writings From the Golden Age of Russian Poetry by Konstantin Batyushkov is far from a straightforward anthology of poems. It is a biographical essay into which are dispersed more than sixty translations, in whole or in part. (The original Russian is not included.) The reader comes to the poetry by way of the prose. The latter ranging from France’s informative narrative to Batyushkov’s own essays and letters. -- Jim Kates * The Arts Fuse *
[Konstantin Batyushkov] did for the Russian language what Petrarch did for Italian. -- Alexander Pushkin
Konstantin Batyushkov was one of the great Russian poets of the nineteenth century, and Peter France has done a superlative job in bringing his work to an English-speaking audience. The volume deserves praise for its careful yet mellifluous translations of verse and for a biography that provides a rich cultural and historical context. -- Michael Wachtel, Princeton University
Peter France’s book is a unique journey into Batyushkov’s turbulent and tragic life, expertly placed within the context of the equally turbulent Russian nineteenth century. Just as importantly, France's virtuoso translations introduce Batyushkov in English poetic language as it exists now. -- Ilya Kutik, Northwestern University
This selective anthology of Batyushkov’s poetry with commentary by Peter France is a welcome complement to Ilya Z. Serman’s study of the poet’s life and works. -- Carrol F. Coates, Independent Scholar * Slavic and East European Journal *
The translations of shorter poems are often equimetrical and also reproduce rhyme. . . The longer poems are rendered with a grace and clarity that takes them beyond the standard of cribs. Comments on form supplement translation helpfully. Nothing, one imagines, could work better in classes on Russian poetry of the Pushkin period. * Slavonic and East European Review *
Table of ContentsContents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Vologda to St. Petersburg
2. War and Peace
3. The City and the Country
4. Back to War
5. The Return of Odysseus
6. Arzamas and the
Essays7. To Italy
8. Into the Dark
Index
