10 modern Russian poets worth knowing about

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

21st century creators, who are acutely responsive to political and cultural agendas, work through the trauma of society and document reality.

1. Olga Sedakova

Olga Sedakova is one of the brightest representatives of uncensored poetry. In Soviet times, her works were practically not published, apart from publications in foreign prohibited publications. To date, more than 30 books of the writer have been published: collections of prose, poetry and journalism.

Sedakova is a symbolic figure for the poetic circle: she is both a philosopher, an essayist, and a translator. Olga skillfully works with serious religious topics and enters into a dialogue with all world literature.

Did you know, dwarf pines, weeping willows?

Untethered boat

does not poke into the shore for a long time -

and no joy

what happened

and no pity:

we are all here today, and tomorrow - who will say?

"Chinese journey" (fragment) Olga Sedakova

2. Elena Fanailova

The poetic voice of Elena Fanailova is very recognizable - it has so much inner strength and power that it cannot be confused with others. The original author's intonations are present in any texts, whatever she writes about: about love, life, death or the passage of time.

Fanaylova is an indifferent author. The poetess closely monitors what is happening in the world, and comprehends what is happening in poetry. The poetic cycle "Troy vs Lysistrata", dedicated to the Russian-Ukrainian events, deserves special attention.

… Do not serve anyone, do not listen to anyone, Even if you are called to be your husband.

How the brain explodes - the savvy know it

Shot from a gun

Chekhov's characters.

Don't ask, don't be afraid

Continuing the classic, don't believe.

And even more so - do not be surprised

When, after that, they point to the door. -

Come on in, don't be shy.

"From letters atd" (fragment) Elena Fanailova

3. Dmitry Bykov

Writer, poet and journalist Dmitry Bykov needs no introduction - his name is always heard. His caustic epigrams are often circulated on social media, making people in power anxious. But Bykov's poetry cannot be reduced solely to civic lyrics, these poems are always different: either like a tub of cold water, or like a farewell kiss.

Is it really really to the prose of summer

Beginning to lean while running over?

Is life really lived

And now another is coming?

I write like in the desert. My circle has thinned.

You won't read it to anyone, and you don't need to.

For poetry, there is now a limit:

Meditation in the genre of disintegration.

"Fragments" (fragment) Dmitry Bykov

4. Lida Yusupova

Lida Yusupova creates documentary poetry, makes literature out of life. Her books, Dead Dad and The Sentences, are horror stories that expose the injustice of the judiciary and the brutality of people who commit crimes on a daily basis.

Yusupova's works are a tribute to all victims of violence, killed and maimed. Her lyrics are based on the found poetry technique: the author takes words from real court cases and turns them into a terrible poetic story.

On June 24, 1996, Julia disappeared in the city of Nevinnomyssk

went to a disco with two girls and never came back

and Masha Sigova is silent

they were together

Nadia so many years have passed

it's time to tell Masha

she should know everything

even if my mother regretted

yes Valya could tell

but she will never tell

I understood that

thanks for the support

"And Masha Sigova is silent" (fragment) Lida Yusupova

5. Alexey Salnikov

Writer, author of the bestseller "The Petrovs in and around the Flu," Alexei Salnikov creates amazing poems: lyrical, gentle, imaginative. The mythological space of his poetry seems to have no analogues. And if poetry is a drug, as the writer suggested in his novel Indirectly, then Salnikov knows how to take everything from life.

From the rain the forests were lifted, Leaving only noise and blanks

And the smoke of the water comes, and from the porch

Water is visible on the clothesline.

And affectionately, by a quarter or a third

Ruining myself in milk and smoke, The landscape departs, leaving henceforth

A portrait devastated by commas.

"The forests were lifted out of the rain …" (fragment) Alexey Salnikov

6. Maria Stepanova

Maria Stepanova is another iconic contemporary poet and public intellectual. Her creative style is distinctive and original - Stepanova experiments with artistic speech and is not afraid to create new meanings.

The poet's poems have been translated into many languages. She is a laureate of the Andrei Bely Prize (for poetry) and the Big Book (for the novel In Memory of Memory), editor-in-chief of the Colta portal, essayist and publicist.

So that the unreasonable does not shout, The coat is bought for the body in the thaw.

I gap under my shirt like a sieve

Before the stove burning at night.

Bulging ribs, cheekbones outward, Lips are folded, rounding on "y".

I won't get up from my place! I'm afraid: I will break

Its shaky architecture.

"Negro" (fragment) Maria Stepanova

7. Dmitry Vodennikov

One of the most popular contemporary poets, Dmitry Vodennikov has not written poetry for 10 years already - he publishes posts on Facebook, essays and articles. As he himself says, the poems "left" from him. Although in 2007 he was named "the king of poets" at the "Territory" festival, and the fans learned the poem "Rosehip" by heart. Nevertheless, everything that Vodennikov does - be it a book dedicated to his beloved dog Josephine Taurovna (Dreams of Chuna), or journalism - is poetic and deserves attention.

It's so smoky here

and the light is unbearable

that you can't even discern your hands -

who wants to live to be loved?

I want to live so that I can be loved!

Well, since you are not worth living at all.

"It's so smoky here …" (fragment) Dmitry Vodennikov

8. Linor Goralik

Linor Goralik is a man-orchestra. She is a poet, a prose writer, an essayist, a translator, and a marketer - she has all kinds of talents. The general public knows Linor as the creator of "Hare PC", a popular character in topical comics.

Goralik's creativity is diverse: sometimes her poems look like a magic conspiracy, sometimes - like creepy fairy tales, and sometimes - like life itself, examined under a microscope. For those who are interested in contemporary poetry, we can recommend Linor's project "Private Persons", in which she talks with poets about their lives - personal and creative.

While this tale is read to all of us, everything around is exactly what happens:

at first, a solid little rodent, almost a toy, lies among the potatoes;

then winter, we are busy with lunch and hear a woman's scream from under the balcony:

eighth floor, ninth cat times.

Then someone else's bug somewhere in the park, -

our brother drops a lollipop in grief:

we grew up with her - and now, we outgrew.

Then first the grandmother, later the grandfather.

Then winter, you mess with potatoes -

And you feel how they are pulling lightly.

Already quietly began to pull.

"While this tale is being read to all of us …" Linor Goralik

9. Oksana Vasyakina

Oksana Vasyakina is a poetess of the generation of thirty. In 2019, she won the Lyceum Prize for the Wind of Fury poetry cycle dedicated to all victims of violence. Vasyakina works with a fem-agenda, and her poems are like a liberation manifesto.

I lie in the dark underground

I lie and feel like under me

other women sleep in the dark

their hearts beat in a whisper in their chests

and interspersed

in a song about hate and pain

I feel like above the ground

I feel like above me

the winds are blowing full of rage

they sing a song of rage

and call us to get up and go

avenge us

for our female tribe.

"They sleep underground …" (fragment) Oksana Vasyakina

10. Alexander Kushner

Leningrad poet Alexander Kushner is considered a modern classic. In 1970 he created the legendary literary association LITo, which included many famous poets. Linguistic experiments, free verse or blank verse are alien to Kushner - rhyme lives in his texts. And the words of the poet, "Times are not chosen, they live and die" have long become textbooks.

Take introductory words.

They make your head spin

They interfere with the essence of saving

And they slow down our speech.

And all are convenient because

That give out easily to others

How do we feel about

What are we talking about, embarrassed.

They will say to me: "Fortunately …"

And then

Let them say anything

I listen with my mouth open

And I rejoice in everything.

"Introductory words" (fragment) Alexander Kushner

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