I am so taken with Anna Akhmatova's poetry, with her dreamy yet striking imagery, and her wistful, occasionally ironic tone. The way the narrator of this poem sees is such magic to me — the idea that a day could be so blessed because it belongs to a loved one's namesake.
8 November 1913
The sun fills my room,
Yellow dust drifts aslant.
I wake up and remember:
This is your saint's day.
That's why even the snow
Outside my window is warm,
Why I, sleepless, have slept
Like a communicant.
-Anna Akhmatova
trans. by D.M. Thomas
Poetry Friday round-up at Big A little a
Incidentally, what do you think of the words "authoress" and "poetess"?
Mmm... I love her work too. I can only imagine how much more beautiful it sounds in Russian... although this translation captures the mood beautifully, I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
I love this, I've never heard of her but i'll look into it. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI really love what little I've read of her poetry; I really should read more someday...she very well could be my favorite poet.
ReplyDeleteI'm against "authoress" and "poetess". Old-fashioned-sounding and is it really necessary? I'm pretty much against adding "-ess" to anything to make it feminine (except I'm okay with "actress" and "murderess" is just so so funny).
I think those words are unnecessary and too long.
ReplyDeleteTakes me back to reading War and Peace.
ReplyDeleteI don't consider myself a feminist, but I have an aversion to when people insist on calling one an "actress" when "actor" would work just as well. I don't *mind* being called an actress, sometimes *I* call myself an actress, but when you can't be included--as in, when people say "these actors and this actress"--that bugs me. I AM AN ACTOR. Done deal.
ReplyDeleteAuthoress and poetess are the same way - they don't bother me, per se, but they're not my favorite, either.
Wow, I don't think I articulated myself well at all in that comment. I meant to say, I don't have a problem with those words or with "actress", but when people think you *must* be called that [actress], it's the only correct term, vs being able to be called actor, too--then it bothers me. Because actor is not a male term, people.
ReplyDeleteDoes that make sense?
It made sense to me, Erin.
ReplyDeleteFo sho. I agree.
ReplyDeleteAlso with Madison that there is something quite funny about "murderess" - which of course reminds me of Flannery Culp and The Basic Eight...
The poem is lovely. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for 'authoress' and 'poetess', I really don't have a problem with either (I actually call myself an authoress occasionally), but it should be an option to call oneself that, not a necessity. ...If that makes sense?
I prefer authoress and poet. Poetess sounds funny to me, but authoress makes me feel special. :)
ReplyDeletebeautiful. i love your poem choices. and, tho i don't think we should have to use them, i like "authoress" and "poetess." they seem romantic to me...
ReplyDelete"Authoress" makes me think of someone 'stately as a galleon', sweeping around tall and broad in many layers of fabric, declaiming things and striking people with the back of her hand or her jewelled bifocals. Also a definite article and a capital: "ah, here comes The Authoress."
ReplyDeleteCassandra - Yep, totally.
ReplyDeleteAmber - That was too funny! I understand just what you mean, though. :D
i don't like the word 'authoress' at all, it sounds diminutive and condescending to me. but then i always refer to myself as a 'writer' rather than an 'author' anyway. I'm saving the word 'author' for when i get a book published :)
ReplyDelete... i think 'poetess' sounds kind of romantic, though. maybe because i don't really write poetry... lol
beautiful! i love her poems, they're mostly short and succint, but very powerful.
ReplyDeletei like the sound of poetess :)
"ess" is kind of odd, methinks.
ReplyDeleteGem, it sounds rather diminuitive to me to. Sort of like suffragette instead of suffragist.
ReplyDelete