Wayne Pernu. Yeats in Gales Creek. Translated by Alexander Markov

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moon for Wayne
Wayne Pernu. Yeats in Gales Creek. Translated by Alexander Markov

 

In spite of the years which hold us apart

(a fathomless labyrinth hope can’t renew)

a line you wrote still cuts to the heart.

This world covets what it most despises,

finding veracity in what is least true.

The vast constellations are fixed in the heavens

for pseudo-astrologers to misconstrue;

time lags while the same moon rises

Homer and Dante knew.

~ ~ ~

 

Смятенье чувств с годами нарастает,

Мы не дойдём до середины мненья,

И только строки сердца достигают,

Скорейшее найдя нам примененье.

Созвездий расточительны разломы,

Догадки наши безнадежно плохи,

Но Данте и Гомер вершат подъемы,

Сплетая нами прожитые сроки.

 

Russian translation by Alexander Markov

About the Author:

Wayne Pernu on EastWest Literary Forum
Wayne Pernu
Portland, OR, US

Wayne Pernu is an American poet who grew up in Minnesota and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

About the Translator:

Alexander Markov
Alexander Markov
Moscow, Russia

Alexander Markov is a philologist, culturologist, professor of cinema and contemporary art at the Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow).

Wayne Pernu Уэйн Перну
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This excellent anthology, compiled and edited by Julia Nemirovskaya, showcases poems by Russian (and Russian-speaking) poets who express their absolute rejection of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

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The documentary novel “The Tenth Circle” tells the story of the life, struggle, and destruction of the Minsk ghetto, one of the largest in the Soviet Union and Europe during World War II. (Russian edition)

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by Julia Nemirovskaya and Anna Krushelnitskaya, editors

This collection focuses on the war between Russia and Ukraine as seen by Russophone poets from all over the world.

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EastWest Literary Forum Bilingual Poetry & Prose Reading. July 13, 2025.
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