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Category: Poetry
The New Year has always been a merry holiday in my family, even in the worst of times. A decade ago, when I was still editing the Los Angeles Review of Books (which celebrates its fifteenth anniversary this year!), I invited my Belarusian friend Sasha Razor and the brilliant scholar of Soviet media David MacFadyen […]
“Board the Troika of the Past”: Alexander Voloshin Rings in the New Year
Agacée par le bruitDu vent qui souffle par rafales,Mon corps contre toi s’affale,Fourbu, alangui.Dans cette longue nuit,L’un contre l’autre blottis,Nous retrouvons l’attraitDans cet amour secretQui nous catapulteLoin du tumulteQue pourrait nous apporter,Cette nuit singulièrement agitée. Contre toi ainsi lovée,J’oublie la plainte du vent ;Je reste pleinement concentrée,Sur le chant de l’engoulevent.Mes mains s’attardent,Sur chaque centimètre […]
Dans tes yeux je revis – In your eyes I live again
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Übermensch
ConsolationOur memory was burned in the adoration of her body.Buttocks made of honey; we understood we couldn’tdivulge our secret preparations while we expected anothermisfortune to occur. Ticking of clocks lingered betweenbay and peninsula, tide that raised all our hope, littlejasmine flowers, fragrant nuptials twice experienced.Heart beats, anticipation, until the new gathering wasannounced and we run […]
Übermensch
Born in 1797, Heinrich Heine reshaped English poetry without writing a line in English. Through translation and song, his lyrical brevity, irony, and musical clarity taught English verse to balance feeling with skepticism—showing that poetry could sing sweetly while smiling knowingly at itself.
Birth of Heinrich Heine (1797–1856) – The European Lyric Who Recast English Romantic Irony
Emily Dickinson, born December 10, 1830, transformed English poetry through her dashes, compressed imagery, and metaphysical vision. Her private writings reshaped the lyric, proving that English could whisper, fracture, and blaze with revelation. From one quiet room, she revolutionized how the language breathes, pauses, and imagines.
Birth of Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) – The Private Genius Who Rewrote English Poetry
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Marginal – Manolis Aligizakis
Born on December 6, 1896, Ira Gershwin transformed American English through lyrics that blended wit, rhythm, and conversational charm. His work shaped the Great American Songbook, elevating popular music with literary finesse and giving English a new musical voice that still echoes through Broadway, jazz, and modern songwriting.
Birth of Ira Gershwin (1896–1983) – The Lyricist Who Gave Modern English Its Songbook Wit and Rhythm
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