After Lermontov

A Bicentenary Celebration

Mikhail Lermontov, Peter France, Robyn Marsack, Peter France, Robyn Marsack

• Publisher: Carcanet Poetry
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781847772756
• eBook ISBN:
  9781847775351
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: European Poetry
• Index: Literature

Bursting into print with an impassioned poem on the death of Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov attracted unfavorable attention from the authorities while enjoying a high reputation in literary circles and beyond. He was of Scottish descent, and this bilingual volume celebrates him with new translations by 14 translator-poets, mostly Scottish. Although Lermontov declared in one poem that he was "not Byron," he was greatly influenced by his reading of Byron and of Walter Scott. Having served in the Caucasus and taken part in dangerous engagements against the Chechens, like Pushkin he died in a duel of dubious legality. Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Mikhail Lermontov's birth, this book celebrates and showcases not only a great Russian writer, but also his Scottish heritage and the wealth of talent among the poets and translators of the United Kingdom and beyond.

The Demon: An Eastern Tale
(Part I, 1–9)

1

A mournful demon, outcast spirit,

Flew high above the sinful earth,

And in a multitude the memories

Of better days came swarming forth;

Of those days when in radiant halls

He shone, a perfect child of light,

And when the fiery comet, racing

Across the heavens would love to hail him,

Exchanging smiles of fond delight,

When through wreaths of mist eternal,

Thirsty for knowledge, he had traced

The paths of caravans that wandered

Across the vast celestial wastes;

When he had still known love and faith,

Blessed first-born of creation!

To evil and to doubt a stranger,

His mind untroubled by the round

Of fruitless ages without number;

And more – and so much more, besides

That it still pained him to remember.

2

The outcast had long roamed this world,

Which seemed to him a hostile desert:

Age after age had flown by, just

As minute follows after minute,

In a monotonous parade.

Over the wretched world he reigned,

Sowed evil with a weary heart,

And nowhere did he meet his equal

Or find resistance to his art –

And he grew tired of doing evil.

3

Over the Caucasus’ steep ridges

Flew heaven’s outcast; down below

Like a raw diamond, Kazbek glittered,

White with the everlasting snow,

And deep beneath it, black with menace,

Like some great serpent’s rocky crevice,

The Darial wound its tortuous road.

The Terek, like a lioness bounding,

Maned with a shaggy crest of white,

Roared – and the beasts upon the mountain,

The eagles in the azure heights,

All heard the message of its waters;

And golden clouds that made their way

From southern lands, from far away,

Followed it as it travelled northwards.

And crags that clustered in dense throngs

All heavy with mysterious slumber

Bent their great heads to look upon

The gleaming ripples of the river.

And on the crags the castle towers

Watched ominously through the mists.

Like giant sentries, set to guard

The gateway to the Caucasus.

Before him, wonderful and wild

Was all God’s earth; but, full of pride,

He cast a scornful eye about him,

At everything his God had made,

And not a shadow of emotion

Was on his lofty brow betrayed.

4

And then beneath him a new vision

Revealed itself in colours bright;

A fertile Georgian valley, spreading

Like a rich carpet, far and wide;

Abundant land, most happy sight!

With poplars straight and tall as pillars

And brightly echoing streams that glide

On jewelled beds of stones, and bowers

Of roses, where the nightingales

Still serenade unheeding beauties

In the sweet voice of love’s delight.

The sycamore’s wide-spreading branches

Crowned with dense ivy, and the caves

Where, in the scorching heat of day,

The timid deer conceal themselves

The dazzle, life and noise of leaves;

The chorus of a hundred voices,

The breathing of a thousand flowers!

The sensual swelter of the midday;

And the warm nights that follow, bathed

In the refreshing dewfall fragrant,

And stars as bright as eyes, resplendent

As a young Georgian maiden’s gaze;

But save a feeling of cold envy

Nature’s beauty could arouse

In the heart of that barren outcast

No fresh emotion, no fresh powers;

And everything before his eyes

He either hated or despised.

5

A tall house and a spacious court

Gudal had built upon the mountain,

By years of toil and tears of countless

Humble servants dearly bought;

At dawn the neighbo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Introduction
• The Demon: An Eastern Tale (Part I, 1–9)
• Ossian’s Grave
• Russian Song
• A Wish
• ‘If on a winter’s morning’
• Angel
• ‘I don’t love you’
• ‘Not Byron, but, like Byron’
• ‘She does not with disdainful beauty’
• Sail
• ‘Mute we stood’
• Hebrew Melody (from Byron)
• Song of the Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, the Young Oprichnik Kiribeevich and the Brave Merchant Stepan Kalashnikov – Conclusion
• On the Death of a Poet
• Borodino
• Neighbour
• ‘Whan the yallowin cornfield’s fair steirin’
• ‘We parted’
• The Dagger
• ‘I backward cast my e’e’
• ‘She sings’
• Cossack Cradle Song
• Never Trust Yourself
• In Memory of A.I. Odoevsky
• ‘Words may be spoken’
• ‘How often, as I stand in the bright crowd’
• ‘It’s dull and it’s sad’
• Journalist, Reader and Writer
• The Captive Knight
• Portrait
• Last Will
• Ma Kintra
• The Final Welcome Home
• ‘Unwasht Russia, fare ye weel’
• ‘Farewell, soap-dodging Russia’
• A Dream
• Night-Walk
• Tsarévna of the Sea
• The Leaf
• The Prophet
• ‘Nobody will hear these words’
• Valerik
• Демон: Восточная повесть (Часть 1, 1–9)
• Гроб Оссиана
• Русская песня
• Желание
• Кто в утро зимнее
• Ангел
• Я не люблю тебя
• Нет, я не Байрон
• Она не с гордой красотой
• Парус
• В рядах стояли
• Еврейская мелодия (Из Байрона)
• Песня про царя Ивана Васильевича, молодого опричника и удалого купца Калашникова
• Смерть поэта
• Бородино
• Сосед
• Когда волнуется желтеющая нива
• Расстались мы
• Кинжал
• Гляжу на будущность с боязнью
• Она поет
• Казачья колыбельная песня
• Не верь себе
• Памяти А. И. Одевского
• Есть речи
• Как часто пестрою толпою окружен
• И скучно и грустно
• Журналист, читатель и писатель
• Пленный рыцарь
• К портрету
• Завещание
• Родина
• Последнее новоселье
• Прощай, немытая Россия
• Сон
• Выхожу один я на дорогу
• Морская царевна
• Листок
• Пророк
• Никто моим словам не внемлет
• Валерик
• Notes on the Translators
• About the Authors
• Russian poetry available from Carcanet Press
• Copyright