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Sophia Parnok: The Life and Work of Russia's Sappho
The weather in Moscow is good, there's no cholera, there's also no lesbian love...Brrr! Remembering those persons of whom you write me makes me nauseous as if I'd eaten a rotten sardine. Moscow doesn't have them--and that's marvellous."
— Anton Chekhov , writing to his publisher in 1895
Chekhov's barbed comment suggests the climate in which Sophia Parnok was writing, and is an added testament to to the strength and confidence with which she pursued both her personal and artistic life. Author of five volumes of poetry, and lover of Marina Tsvetaeva, Sophia Parnok was the only openly lesbian voice in Russian poetry during the Silver Age of Russian letters. Despite her unique contribution to modern Russian lyricism however, Parnok's life and work have essentially been forgotten.
Parnok was not a political activist, and she had no engagement with the feminism vogueish in young Russian intellectual circles. From a young age, however, she deplored all forms of male posturing and condescension and felt alienated from what she called patriarchal virtues. Parnok's approach to her sexuality was equally forthright. Accepting lesbianism as her natural disposition, Parnok acknowledged her relationships with women, both sexual and non-sexual, to be the centre of her creative existence.
Diana Burgin's extensively researched life of Parnok is deliberately woven around the poet's own account, visible in her writings. The book is divided into seven chapters, which reflect seven natural divisions in Parnok's life. This lends Burgin's work a particular poetic resonance, owing to its structural affinity with one of Parnok's last and greatest poetic achievements, the cycle of love lyrics Ursa Major. Dedicated to her last lover, Parnok refers to this cycle as a seven-star of verses, after the seven stars that make up the constellation. Parnok's poems, translated here for the first time in English, added to a wealth of biographical material, make this book a fascinating and lyrical account of an important Russian poet. Burgin's work is essential reading for students of Russian literature, lesbian history and women's studies.
— Anton Chekhov , writing to his publisher in 1895
Chekhov's barbed comment suggests the climate in which Sophia Parnok was writing, and is an added testament to to the strength and confidence with which she pursued both her personal and artistic life. Author of five volumes of poetry, and lover of Marina Tsvetaeva, Sophia Parnok was the only openly lesbian voice in Russian poetry during the Silver Age of Russian letters. Despite her unique contribution to modern Russian lyricism however, Parnok's life and work have essentially been forgotten.
Parnok was not a political activist, and she had no engagement with the feminism vogueish in young Russian intellectual circles. From a young age, however, she deplored all forms of male posturing and condescension and felt alienated from what she called patriarchal virtues. Parnok's approach to her sexuality was equally forthright. Accepting lesbianism as her natural disposition, Parnok acknowledged her relationships with women, both sexual and non-sexual, to be the centre of her creative existence.
Diana Burgin's extensively researched life of Parnok is deliberately woven around the poet's own account, visible in her writings. The book is divided into seven chapters, which reflect seven natural divisions in Parnok's life. This lends Burgin's work a particular poetic resonance, owing to its structural affinity with one of Parnok's last and greatest poetic achievements, the cycle of love lyrics Ursa Major. Dedicated to her last lover, Parnok refers to this cycle as a seven-star of verses, after the seven stars that make up the constellation. Parnok's poems, translated here for the first time in English, added to a wealth of biographical material, make this book a fascinating and lyrical account of an important Russian poet. Burgin's work is essential reading for students of Russian literature, lesbian history and women's studies.
382 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1994
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About the author
Diana Lewis Burgin
10 books9 followersDiana Lewis Burgin is an author, and Professor of Russian at the University of Massachusetts Boston; she received her B.A. in Russian from Swarthmore College, her M.A. & Ph.D. from Harvard University's Slavic Languages and Literatures Department. She has been teaching Russian at University of Massachusetts, Boston since 1975.
She is the daughter of conductor Richard Burgin and musician Ruth Posselt, who married on 3 July 1940. She has published a narrative poem "Richard Burgin: A Life in Verse" describing her father's biography.
Author Richard Burgin is her brother.
She is the daughter of conductor Richard Burgin and musician Ruth Posselt, who married on 3 July 1940. She has published a narrative poem "Richard Burgin: A Life in Verse" describing her father's biography.
Author Richard Burgin is her brother.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 19, 2013
And truly, one cannot predict
who in the world will be one's reader:
a ball can't know what it will hit
once it's been shot into the distance.
Well, then, my life-creating verse,
whom I breathe, in whom I live,
fly into the darkness, into the void,
or simply, into the secret drawer!
Our path was blocked at midpoint by
a cruel century. But we're not complaining -
let it be! And yet, and in the main, it's
a splendid thing, this century!
Perhaps it has no use for poems,
or for names and patronymics
or for separate lonelinesses -
still, it kneads the dough of centuries!
(#225) (p 267)
I came across this book while I was browsing through the Slavonic studies part of the library and the title caught my eye, I'm glad I picked it up and read it. Some of Parnok's poems are amazing and I really like the format of the book, the way biographical data is interspersed with poems - at the same time, the book does have its disappointing moments. After the first two hundred pages or so it becomes a bit dull - the novelty of reading about a Russian lesbian in the 1910s - 1920s wears off and you (or at least, I) yearn for more information both about the cultural atmosphere in Russian at the time and about her poems. The book ends up being a catalogue of Parnok's lovers based on clues from her poems and, I dunno, I feel like this doesn't really give you that much insight into who she was as a person or the kind of homophobic culture she had to navigate. The translations of the poems are also often rather disappointing - I felt tempted at times to rearranged them slightly - I don't want to criticize Burgin too harshly because she's obviously put so much work into the book, which included translating hundreds of poems as well as looking through a lot of hard to get hold of archival material. I also felt like at some points in the book Burgin was trying very hard, too hard, to link Parnok's life / work / vision to that of her Western contemporaries - at one point she goes on and on about how Parnok was a woman-identified poet. I found this disappointing too because I would rather have read about how Parnok can be integrated into the life / work / vision of other Russian / 'Eastern European' women. I guess, really, what I wish most is to be able to read her in Russian.
To conclude, another one of her marvellous poems:
I'll remember everything. In one boundless moment,
the obedient herds of all my days will crowd before me.
On the paths I've trodden I shall not overlook
one track, like the lines in my reference book,
and to the evil of all my days I shall softly say "yes".
Are we not summoned here by the whim of love -
love, I have not endeavored to break your chains!
And without fear, without shame, without despair
I'll remember everything.
Even if my toil has yielded me a pitiful harvest,
and my barns are full of wormwood rather than corn,
and even if my god has lied, my faith is firm,
I won't be like some contemptible defrocked monk
in that endless moment, the last moment, when
I'll remember everything.
(#42) (p 135-6)
who in the world will be one's reader:
a ball can't know what it will hit
once it's been shot into the distance.
Well, then, my life-creating verse,
whom I breathe, in whom I live,
fly into the darkness, into the void,
or simply, into the secret drawer!
Our path was blocked at midpoint by
a cruel century. But we're not complaining -
let it be! And yet, and in the main, it's
a splendid thing, this century!
Perhaps it has no use for poems,
or for names and patronymics
or for separate lonelinesses -
still, it kneads the dough of centuries!
(#225) (p 267)
I came across this book while I was browsing through the Slavonic studies part of the library and the title caught my eye, I'm glad I picked it up and read it. Some of Parnok's poems are amazing and I really like the format of the book, the way biographical data is interspersed with poems - at the same time, the book does have its disappointing moments. After the first two hundred pages or so it becomes a bit dull - the novelty of reading about a Russian lesbian in the 1910s - 1920s wears off and you (or at least, I) yearn for more information both about the cultural atmosphere in Russian at the time and about her poems. The book ends up being a catalogue of Parnok's lovers based on clues from her poems and, I dunno, I feel like this doesn't really give you that much insight into who she was as a person or the kind of homophobic culture she had to navigate. The translations of the poems are also often rather disappointing - I felt tempted at times to rearranged them slightly - I don't want to criticize Burgin too harshly because she's obviously put so much work into the book, which included translating hundreds of poems as well as looking through a lot of hard to get hold of archival material. I also felt like at some points in the book Burgin was trying very hard, too hard, to link Parnok's life / work / vision to that of her Western contemporaries - at one point she goes on and on about how Parnok was a woman-identified poet. I found this disappointing too because I would rather have read about how Parnok can be integrated into the life / work / vision of other Russian / 'Eastern European' women. I guess, really, what I wish most is to be able to read her in Russian.
To conclude, another one of her marvellous poems:
I'll remember everything. In one boundless moment,
the obedient herds of all my days will crowd before me.
On the paths I've trodden I shall not overlook
one track, like the lines in my reference book,
and to the evil of all my days I shall softly say "yes".
Are we not summoned here by the whim of love -
love, I have not endeavored to break your chains!
And without fear, without shame, without despair
I'll remember everything.
Even if my toil has yielded me a pitiful harvest,
and my barns are full of wormwood rather than corn,
and even if my god has lied, my faith is firm,
I won't be like some contemptible defrocked monk
in that endless moment, the last moment, when
I'll remember everything.
(#42) (p 135-6)
May 30, 2019
An amazing survey of Parnok’s life, with her poems arranged throughout the text along with her biography. Attempts to explain the meter and rhyme and other parts of her work lost in translation and overall provides a great portrait of an incredible woman. This book is a gift to anyone interested in lesbian history, russian literary history, etc!
July 4, 2020
Tragic and beautiful
Though originally written in Russian, Sophia’s poems are rich with her soul (one that speaks of love and longing)
I love how raw and human it is and Burgin did a fantastci job with the translation
Though originally written in Russian, Sophia’s poems are rich with her soul (one that speaks of love and longing)
I love how raw and human it is and Burgin did a fantastci job with the translation
December 18, 2023
an interesting mix of biography analysis poetry correspondence and rumor of the life of sophia parnok
wish there had been an index of the full poems rather than first lines as it seems Burgin has translated (or has translations) all extant poems and letters to, from, or about her. feels incredibly thorough and while it is enjoyable there is maybe too much time spent explaining where Parnok was in every one of her travels and apartments throughout her (entire) life
wish there had been an index of the full poems rather than first lines as it seems Burgin has translated (or has translations) all extant poems and letters to, from, or about her. feels incredibly thorough and while it is enjoyable there is maybe too much time spent explaining where Parnok was in every one of her travels and apartments throughout her (entire) life
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July 9, 2025A genuinely interesting (though at times clearly a bit too fictionalized) biography of a person I hadn't even known existed.
August 15, 2023
~3.25
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews