"I learned the grass as I began to write": the poetry of Arseny Tarkovsky

Our new translation of Arseny Tarkovsky's "I learned the grass..." is now at Two Lines Online. You can also read my short statement of translating Tarkovsky here.

Speaking of Soviet poetry during an interview toward the end of her life, Anna Akhmatova called Arseny Tarkovsky the one “real poet.” In her words, in 1965, “of all contemporary poets Tarkovsky alone is completely his own self, completely independent. He possesses the most important feature of a poet, which I’d call the birthright . . .” He somehow survived the Soviet Age and all its compromises to create an unforgettable verse.

Here's a beautiful scene from "Mirror," directed by his son, which features Tarkovsky's "First Meetings" poem, just to give you a taste of his music: