The Pillar of Fire: Selected Poems

by Nikolay Gumilyov, Michael Basker, Richard McKane (Translation)

This is the first major selection to appear in Britain from one of the finest poets of the Silver Age of Russian literature. The rich, exotic poetry of Nikolay Gumilyov (1886-1921) draws on his extensive travels in Europe and Africa. Its deepest concerns are man's inner being and striving for spiritual fulfilment. He was shot in 1921, unjustly accused of complicity in an anti-Bolshevik plot. His poems were banned and were not published in Russia until the late 1980s. Richard McKane's fluent translations are complemented by a full introduction and detailed notes by the leading western Gumilyov scholar, Michael Basker. An appendix includes nine poems by Anna Akhmatova relating to Gumilyov. Richard McKane is the translator of Anna Selected Poems' (1989), and with Elizabeth McKane of Osip Mandelstam's The Moscow Notebooks' (1991) and The Voronezh Notebooks' (1996). Michael Basker is one of the main contributors to the authoritative edition of the poet's work in preparation in Russia. He teaches at Bristol University.

Genres: Poetry, Russia

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Николай Гумилев

An influential Russian poet, literary critic, traveler, and military officer. He was the cofounder of the Acmeist movement. Nikolay Gumilev was arrested and executed by the Cheka, the secret Soviet police force, in 1921.

Reviews

[Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um poeta brilhante. A meu ver, um dos melhores depois de Boris Pasternak. Há poemas que nunca mais nos abandonam, outros há que desejaríamos nunca ter lido pois parecem-se demasiado com a nossa dor.

Um dos melhores poetas russos, sem dúvida!

*

"But you’ve breathed in the damp marsh air for so long

You don’t want to believe in anything but the rain out your window..."

*

"It is everywhere.
In the fire,
in the darkness,
so close and unexpected,
in the horse of a Hungarian hussar
or in the gun of a Tyrolean sniper.
Where the darkness of an uncontrollable power
is boiling, grunting and screaming,
the darkness of unbridled power,
the Archangel's wing hovers over it.
Several paths lead to Rome,
which is in ruins.
But if Rome falls,
and howl with a cry in the crowd,
the Angel will be benevolent.
The devil will be merciless."

[Margaryta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only downside to this collection is that it isn’t bilingual – how I would’ve loved to compare the original and the translation. Knowing Russian poetry, I’m almost certain the originals would’ve rhymed, and comparing rhyme and free verse would’ve been wonderful. Nonetheless, even if I hadn’t encountered Gumilyov’s work before, I found that the translate versions were already mesmerizing. I can only imagine what they were like in their original Russian.

The earlier poems were my personal favourites, particularly from the collections “Romantic Flowers” and “Pearls”. They had the strongest mix of an exotic, fairytale quality with the modern, a style of poetry I’m particularly fond of. There are dark and startlingly beautiful images throughout all the poems, of brides and jaguars and stars, and the sense of longing for a lover is so tangible I had to put the book down at times because I felt the speaker’s voice influencing my own emotions.

For those not familiar with Gumilyov, the book is also wonderfully annotated, with biographical information and notes, as well as some of Anna Akhmatova’s own poetry that she wrote about Gumilyov. It’s a treat both in terms of Gumilyov’s creative power, which is overwhelming, as well as the scholarly side, the prefaces and notes that shine light on the complex and emotional life of a sadly not so well know poet.