02 September 2020 Ma muse n’est pas à vendre The National Library of the Komi Republic is happy to announce about a new arrival – a bilingual edition of Ivan Kuratov’s poetry presented by Sébastien Cagnoli and Yves Avril, My Muse is Not for Sale (Ma muse n’est pas à vendre).
It is a collection of 44 poems, two originally in Russian and the rest in Komi, with a parallel translation into French by Yves Avril.
The French-speaking readers will find a helpful glossary at the end explaining some cultural trivia. The book cover is decorated with a drawing by Yury Lisovsky whose graphic art is already a brand of Komi. Also, the last page presents a handwritten copy of one of Kuratov’s poems in Komi giving the idea of the language and being the author’s autograph at the same time.
The book is a gift from the library's long-term friend and partner, an engineer by training and an independent researcher, Sébastien Cagnoli.
The introduction by Sébastien Cagnoli triggers the reader’s interest by its witty and precise title: Neither Scandinavian nor Slavic: original voices from Northern Europe. This is exactly what the book is intended for – making the voice of the first Komi poet heard.
In his word of introduction Sébastien Cagnoli says:
“The anthology of Komi poetry, of which this volume is the first part, happily fills a gap. Indeed, if the voices of Hungarian, Finnish or Estonian poets know how to make a way to French-speaking ears by taking West European cultural networks, we do not always receive any feedback from other creations of Finno-Ugric lyrics: those of their literary colleagues from Russia”.
The publisher, Les Éditions Paradigme, provides an important background and a biographical note:
“The Komi inhabit a vast region at the foot of the Urals on the borders of European Russia. Of Finno-Ugric language, baptized in the 14th century by Saint Stephen of Perm, this people owe the first developments of their literature to Ivan Kouratov. Born in 1834 in the village of Kebra (now Kuratovo), he first intended to be a priest. He then taught in his country's capital, Ust’-Syssolsk (now Syktyvkar), then entered the military administration. He died in Verny (now Almaty in Kazakhstan) in 1875. A poet of both European and national culture, tireless translator of classics and the great European poets of his time, his work was not really discovered until the Soviet era”.
The French translators have also announced the second volume of the anthology of Komi lyrics that will present a diverse selection of Komi poets, from Kuratov to the present day.
The original introduction and contents of the book can be viewed online at:
http://excerpts.numilog.com/books/9782868780621.pdf
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Менам муза абу вуза / Ma muse n'est pas à vendre
Ivan Kouratov IN 47678и A bilingual edition of Ivan Kuratov’s poetry presented by Sébastien Cagnoli and Yves Avril. It is a collection of 44 poems, two originally in Russian and the rest in Komi, with a parallel translation into French by Yves Avril. The Komi people owe the first developments of the national literature to Ivan Kouratov. Born in 1834 in the village of Kebra (now Kuratovo), he first intended to be a priest. He then taught in his country's capital, Ust’-Syssolsk (now Syktyvkar), then entered the military administration. He died in Verny (now Almaty in Kazakhstan) in 1875. A poet of both European and national culture, tireless translator of classics and the great European poets of his time, his work was not really discovered until the Soviet era. This is the first volume of the anthology of Komi lyrics. |
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