Customer Reviews

Lion Sun: Poems by Pavel Chichikov

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Pavel's work is lyrical and intensely personal. There are observations of the physical world included in the verse [including a delightful response to the goldfinch in " The Small Musician"] but most of the poems are spiritual landscapes - poems that speak of a lively mind's encounters with guilt, grace, God, the World, the Flesh and the Devil. Observations of nature are essentially the beginnings of a spiritual insight so that a toad, a dragonfly, birdsong or storm becomes emblematic of a spiritual life that transcends the physical. In this sense, his work owes much to the nineteenth century Romantics; the same sense of the poet alone in the natural world characteristic of Wordsworth or Gerard Manly Hopkins pervades the poetry of Lion Sun.

Using simple verse forms, Chichikov brings a visionary style to the work. The poet's own voice is a constant feature of the verse. Many poems begin with and specificity the poet conveys. The weakness, perhaps, is that the poet may become baffling in the allusions spun. One sometimes leaves a poem curiously unsatisfied that the power of the message is lost when a crucial element is missed by the reader. There are few contexts in which to fix the poems. The works are largely undated and there is no introduction or biographical information in which to fix the work. Where the poems work well without contexts, they are powerful and winsome.

The spiritual landscapes drawn in the verse are often on the largest canvas. Saints and sinners, giants and angels, creation and redemption figure in the poems. Political features only intrude into the landscapes for their spiritual interest as in the sonnet The Voice.

Chichikov is at his best when he is most tender and personal, when the biggest allegories give way to the fine observation and instress, as Hopkins would have it. My favourite poem in the anthology is called Creation - a sonnet written for his wife Nancy. Like the person to whom it is dedicated, the poem is gentle, subtle and intelligent

The book is stunning in its design with an exquisite typeface and display. The illustrations by Eric Young are lively and attractive. This is a book that will puzzle, charm and inspire and deserves a wider readership than poetry usually commands

A brilliant collection of poetry from one of our greatest poets. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Pavel Chichikov is an inspired writer whose poems in _Lion Sun_ are an invitation to a walk in the natural/cerebral forest, and along the path one may find one's feet slipping down a crevice into a deep river of meaning, sliding into galaxies of timelessness and space, dimensions of darkness and light. His are not poems for the superficially religious or faint of heart. Pavel weaves words of steel and feather into fish hooks to lure those hungry in spirit for a Christian faith with substance, truth, and nourishment. Pavel Chichikov is a master of sensitivity and beauty, as well as terror and fierceness, and we, his readers, are privileged to have his work in print to challenge and uplift us. Because he is a brilliant, prolific writer, inspired by the Spirit which awakened his own faith in Jesus Christ, and obedient to the call to share his work at this time, it is my hope that _Lion Sun_ will gain wide recognition and is the first of many of his books to come. The book is beautiful in composition and presentation, enhanced by the powerful artwork of Eric Young. I recommend _Lion Sun_whole-heartedly.

I really like the way Pavel writes. I find it very easy to sort of step into the "story" that unfolds. The images are rich and profound, inexhaustible, engaging the creative imagination. The more I read, the more I find. There's something that touches the deeper experiences of life and underscores our sacred connection to this beautiful earth, of whose dust we are made, enlivened by the breath of God. That's important to me, that connection.

Readers do not often have the opportunity to encounter well crafted formal poetry these days, but Lion Sun is one pleasant exception. The poet's use of traditional devices such as rhyme, meter, alliteration, and anaphora is consistent and non-obtrusive, lending much needed form to the substance.

God is sometimes in the forefront of these poems, sometimes subtly resting in the background, and Christ's crucifixion is a frequent subject of meditation for the poet. The themes expressed are largely universal, though hardly trite. Lion Sun provides a much need break from the typical, personalized, self-centered poetry of modern times. As I read the collection, there were times when I was reminded of William Blake's Songs.

The beautifully designed volume contains 74 poems as well as several illustrations by Eric Young. As with any large volume of poetry, the quality of the individual poems is varied. Some particularly good works in this volume include "The Secret," "Mother and Child," "Craving," "The Voice," and "Empty Church."

Thornton Wilder says, in Our Town, something like this: there are some things "seen only by poets and saints."

Read this beautiful book of poems and I think you will know what Wilder means! This is a book both poetic and saintly, a book of vision. Pavel's crafted and gifted words opens eyes and opens hearts. A good, good book.

For the last couple of years I've been enjoying Pavel Chichikov's poems on the Internet. He sees God, in all His moods, in our everyday world and in nature, and vividly puts Him in your face. Yet he displays an underlying sublety that manages to preserve the beauty and grand mystery of our Creator and His work. Sometimes dark, his poems always manage to convey the grand, hopeful and mysterious gift of His redemption. How delighted I am to have an anthology of his poems to carry with me and comfort me on my travels.

Mary changes Kopeks in a subway booth. Jesus cleans a chapelfloor. St. Christopher tells the story of his holy burden. Angelsstand at a forest altar in celebration of Christ's presence. The images of the ageless Church are recreated through the wondrous poetry of Pavel Chichikov in Lion Sun. This poet is able to illuminate the reality of faith in a faithless world while helping his readers understand the impact of Christ on good and evil in everyday life. Surely, Pavel's poetry has an air of phrophecy that causes the reader to look deeply into his/her soul in an effort to examine whether Christ's truth dwells there. Lion Sun is a treasure, and a perfect gift for a faith filled friend.

Never "easy", Pavel's poems both challenge and soothe us. They take us to places of the mind and heart that at first look unfamiliar, but which we soon recognize as our home, as well as his.

Beautifully, produced, this book makes a wonderful gift! Highly recommended.