Selection from Poems

Alexander Pushkin wrote with the reckless conviction that language itself could be revolutionized. He created a distinctly Russian literature from his native tongue, embedding in his verse the same revolutionary spirit that would eventually kill him in a duel at thirty-seven. This collection spans the full range of his brief, incandescent career: passionate love lyrics, bitter political satire, tender elegies to friendship and nature, and the dark intimations of mortality that shadowed his final years. The translator's decision to render Pushkin literally, line by line, preserves something precious: the voice of a poet who became the bedrock of Russian literature, speaking as directly to English readers as he did to his contemporaries two centuries ago.