The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova |  | Author: Anna Andreevna Akhmatova
Creators: Judith Hemschemeyer, Anatoly Naiman
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Category: Book
Buy Used: $74.06
Used (2) from $74.06
Rating:  9 reviews
Format: Import
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 900
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
ISBN: 0862414164
EAN: 9780862414160
ASIN: 0862414164
Publication Date: February 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Keywords: "Subjects - Poetry, Drama & Criticism - Poetry - By Period - 20th Century,Subjects - Poetry, Drama & Criticism - Poetry - General"
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
A true melancholic poetic spirit-though entrenched September 23, 2008
W. Garcia (Houston, TX usa)
AA is a true poetic spirit. If you are interested in finding out how true poets get inspired, here is a good example. I would caution readers though, that there is an a sense of pessimism, sadness and a nauseating mood that permeates many of the poems, but there is diversity though. Here is a human being who, in my opinion, found her hope in her sadness, which, interestingly, was and became expressive of a whole generation of the Russian people. Perhaps this is why she is called a prophet in the sense that she expressed the feelings of the people. This stance is good and many can benefit from it but, what is beyond the relishing in sadness, i would ask?
 if you want to read Russian poetry February 17, 2007
adriana (Los Angeles,CA,USA)
3 out of 18 found this review helpful
you have to read it in Russian. You CANNOT CANNOT CANNOT, and i repeat, CANNOT (!) read it in translation- its like trading feces for gold. That is literally what it sounds like in comparison to the original. The specificity, brutality, the sumptuous tenderness of the Russian language are all but lost in these translations of one of this century's greatest poets. Although you might enjoy what you are reading, given you do not speak Russian- you honestly cannot even BEGIN to touch the greatness of Akhmatova or any other Russian poet by reading it in translation.
I honestly don't know who came up with the concept of translating poetry- to me its barbaric. A poem is so brief, it is so immediate and so dependent upon every word- no one should ever touch it. If you want it bad enough, learn Russian. And just so you know, reading Russian poetry in its original form is MORE than worth going through the trouble of learning the language. There is nothing in the world like it- nothing. It beats Shakespeare.
 Second book critic January 10, 2007
Carole A. Yarwood
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This was one of a set of books I gave my daughter so I cannot rate the books so far as contents are concerned. To order it was easy and fast.
Russian Poets of the 1930s January 10, 2007
William E. Farragher
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am studying Russian writers of the 1930s particularly those who fled to Paris after the Bolshevik Revoltion of 1917. Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva were part of the pre-Revolution intelligencia and suffered terribly from the Reds suppression of artistic freedom. The Complete Poems of AA was helpful to me in this study. The photos, the biography and the dating of individual poems aided my work. Since I am not skilled in Russian, I cannot comment on the quality of the translation but the very moving English version of AA's expression is what I would hope is even better in her native tongue. There is no doubt that even in translation AA and MT were among the great poets of the 20th Century.
William Farragher
Somehow a survivor October 18, 2001
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Akhmatova was one of the few unrepentant Acemist poets to survive Russia's Bolshevik revolution and subsequant Stalinist takeover and purges. She was seen by authorities as a dangerous element, related to the pre-revolutionary order. Somehow, even as her fellow poets - including friend Osip Mandlestam and husband Nikolay Gumilov - were executed, exiled, sent to camps, or fled, she managed to survive - outliving Stalin himself. Her poems range from the early tales of love and unrequitation, to the tormented later works such as Requium - a harrowing dedication to the victoms of Stalinism. Her use of words is fantastic - the reader can truly feel her presence. This collection is very comprehensive, and well-translted from the original Russian. Definately worth the $21.
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