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

Also in Poetry:

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
Bookshelf
fireflies
by Dmitri Manin, Anna Krushelnitskaya

A hybrid scholarly and literary volume of popular Russian-language Soviet children’s texts alongside essays that outline the significance and meanings behind these popular texts.

cockroach cover
by Nina Kossman

A collection of nonsense poetry for readers who love Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc, and all things delightfully peculiar.

Naza s book
by Naza Semoniff

A haunting dystopia some readers have called “the new 1984.” In a society where memory is rewritten and resistance is pre-approved, freedom isn’t restricted; it’s redefined. As systems evolve beyond human control and choice becomes a simulation, true defiance means refusing the script, even when the system already knows you will.

Version 1.0.0
by Nina Kossman

 

A new book of poems by Nina Kossman. “When the mythological and personal meet, something transforms for this reader…” -Ilya Kaminsky

Videos
Play Video
EastWest Literary Forum Bilingual Poetry & Prose Reading. July 13, 2025.
Length: 2 hrs. 08 min