In The Grip of Strange Thoughts: Russian Poetry in a New Era (Russian Edition) [Hardcover]

J. Kates (Editor), Mikhail Aizenberg (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

In the Grip of Strange Thoughts: Russian Poetry in a New Era is a Russian and English bilingual edition of thirty-two contemporary poets writing amidst the upheaval of the Russian 1990s. The collection conveys a sense of the profound freedom and energy of a unique moment in Russian history, as well as the diversity of experience in the years before and since. Edited by poet and translator J. Kates and with a foreword by poet Mikhail Aizenberg, the collection includes poems written long before 1990 but which could not be published, and those of more recent vintage. These thirty-two poets represent a phenomenal range of styles and perspectives. Beginning with the poet and popular songwriter Bulat Okudzhava, who started accompanying his poems on his guitar in the 1950s, the anthology includes poets whose work is deeply rooted in established conventions, avant gardists experimenting with new forms, and adherents of Russian free verse.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Russian (translation)
Original Language: Russian

About the Author

Poet and literary translator. Alone and in collaboration, Kates has translated six books of poetry from French, Spanish and Russian, including poems by Tatiana Shcherbina, The Score of the Game (Zephyr,2002) He also edited In the Grip of Strange Thoughts (Zephyr Press, 1999). Mikhail Aizenberg: Architect, poet, essayist. Born 1948, Moscow, graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute in 1972, he has been writing poems since the mid 1960s.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 465 pages
• Publisher: Zephyr Press (October 1998)
• Language: Russian
• ISBN-10: 0939010577
• ISBN-13: 978-0939010578
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,954,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully translated book of contemporary Russian poets', July 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In The Grip of Strange Thoughts: Russian Poetry in a New Era (Russian Edition) (Paperback)

Zephyr Press, which gave us the superb Complete Poetry of Anna Achmatova, offers us a comprehensive feast of contemporary Russian poetry, with a fascinating introduction. The poetry is bittersweet, reflecting and expressing the soul of a nation changing radically from decade to decade. Many thanks to this hard-working, indefatigable small press for continuing to offer us these books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dull, June 15, 2007

By 

empty pockets (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In The Grip of Strange Thoughts: Russian Poetry in a New Era (Russian Edition) (Paperback)

Perhaps I was expecting too much given the rich tradition of Russian poetry. But the poets in this anthology seem to have been selected for their dissident credentials more than the quality of their poetry, which is uninspiring and flat.