At the point of arrest by Stalin's eager lackeys, the poet could easily have renounced his work. But Osip Mandelstam looked death in the eye, and refused to surrender his authorship.
It is not so. Mandelstam wrote a special poem Ode to Stalin, when he understood what is wait him. But it didn't help. I am publishing cycle of Russian Poets Before and After Revolution. After Blok's fate and his poetry, I will write about Mandlstam, Marina Tsvetaeva and Akhmatova. Sorry, I didn't see the documentary.
You are of course right, and it's a good suggestion. However, the subheading is specifically referring to his response to the first arrest. The Ode came much later - and I will edit this piece to refer to it.
The piece also includes this line: 'At the time of Mandelstam's arrest in 1934, Bukharin reminded Stalin that "the poets are always right: history is on their side."' I didn't know it. I will add it to my short article, too.
Noize MC for the 2015 documentary I linked earlier, the chorus is from Mandelshtam’s Сохрани мою речь poem (“Preserve my speech”, addressed to his wife). The video description has the lyrics
That is a really serious piece of work. I love it. Russian multiks are always special. This was wonderful. I am going to watch the other link you sent later this evening. Thank you.
I’m really glad you like it! I think it’s hard to find the right tone for a documentary, especially on a life so tortured and lived in such times, without the whole thing becoming trite or cheapened and two-dimensional, they did a great job.
I used to struggle to put soundtracks to stories, and I still do (I make donor visibility videos for development organisations) but have never tried rap. Here, bizarrely, it's ok. And what won my heart was the sheer effort put into the animation. Somebody really cared. OM, I hope, has seen it and approved, somewhere up there.
The artist (Noize MC) is a talented poet, delivery style might not be for everyone but the lyrics have always been very captivating. Also socially conscious since forever (way before the whole 2022 situation, I remember him in 2010 ripping the Lukoil VP who killed two women, one pregnant, in a car crash and walked off scot free, to shreds in a super viral video). He’s a great match in terms of contemporary talent and sincerity of spirit
Wanted to share a powerful Nabokov poem I thought you might like - 1927, he’s been living in exile for years at this point. A century later, it’s so precise, how I often feel today, and a lot of those who left in recent years.
I did translate the first poem to English, preserving both the rhythm and the rhyming scheme. Unfortunately, I cannot publish it yet, but later this year I hope to make it public.
Both Mandelstam and Nadezhda are two of the greats
It is not so. Mandelstam wrote a special poem Ode to Stalin, when he understood what is wait him. But it didn't help. I am publishing cycle of Russian Poets Before and After Revolution. After Blok's fate and his poetry, I will write about Mandlstam, Marina Tsvetaeva and Akhmatova. Sorry, I didn't see the documentary.
You are of course right, and it's a good suggestion. However, the subheading is specifically referring to his response to the first arrest. The Ode came much later - and I will edit this piece to refer to it.
You might be interested in this approach to the Ode, which draws parallels with Shostokovich, and suggests that there is heavy irony in the work, that critics like Milosz discount: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/%22The+Road+to+Stalin%22:+Mandelstam's+Ode+to+Stalin+and+%22The+Lines+on...-a0105440642
The piece also includes this line: 'At the time of Mandelstam's arrest in 1934, Bukharin reminded Stalin that "the poets are always right: history is on their side."' I didn't know it. I will add it to my short article, too.
That was hell on Earth.
Noize MC for the 2015 documentary I linked earlier, the chorus is from Mandelshtam’s Сохрани мою речь poem (“Preserve my speech”, addressed to his wife). The video description has the lyrics
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QqtB90hsFLg
That is a really serious piece of work. I love it. Russian multiks are always special. This was wonderful. I am going to watch the other link you sent later this evening. Thank you.
I’m really glad you like it! I think it’s hard to find the right tone for a documentary, especially on a life so tortured and lived in such times, without the whole thing becoming trite or cheapened and two-dimensional, they did a great job.
I used to struggle to put soundtracks to stories, and I still do (I make donor visibility videos for development organisations) but have never tried rap. Here, bizarrely, it's ok. And what won my heart was the sheer effort put into the animation. Somebody really cared. OM, I hope, has seen it and approved, somewhere up there.
The artist (Noize MC) is a talented poet, delivery style might not be for everyone but the lyrics have always been very captivating. Also socially conscious since forever (way before the whole 2022 situation, I remember him in 2010 ripping the Lukoil VP who killed two women, one pregnant, in a car crash and walked off scot free, to shreds in a super viral video). He’s a great match in terms of contemporary talent and sincerity of spirit
Where is he now? (Noize, not the Lukoil dude)
Haha about the Lukoil dude.
He’s in Lithuania since 2022 - under “Political activity” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noize_MC
Wanted to share a powerful Nabokov poem I thought you might like - 1927, he’s been living in exile for years at this point. A century later, it’s so precise, how I often feel today, and a lot of those who left in recent years.
Расстрел
Бывают ночи: только лягу,
в Россию поплывет кровать;
и вот ведут меня к оврагу,
ведут к оврагу убивать.
Проснусь, и в темноте, со стула,
где спички и часы лежат,
в глаза, как пристальное дуло,
глядит горящий циферблат.
Закрыв руками грудь и шею,-
вот-вот сейчас пальнет в меня!-
я взгляда отвести не смею
от круга тусклого огня.
Оцепенелого сознанья
коснется тиканье часов,
благополучного изгнанья
я снова чувствую покров.
Но, сердце, как бы ты хотело,
чтоб это вправду было так:
Россия, звезды, ночь расстрела
и весь в черемухе овраг!
I did translate the first poem to English, preserving both the rhythm and the rhyming scheme. Unfortunately, I cannot publish it yet, but later this year I hope to make it public.
I will be keen to see it. Thank you.
As brilliant as it is heartbreaking, your article - thank you for introducing me to such an artist. I will be following your work with interest.
Thank you for your kind comment.