"If you want to know how Russians feel about their country, read the poetry of Sergei Esenin.
"The 'old plank bridge' spans not only eras but centuries; not only one Russia with another, but Russia with the rest of the world."
So writes acclaimed author and translator Roger Pulvers about this collection of translations of the best and most moving poems by Sergei Esenin, still, nearly a century after his death, Russia's most popular poet.
I am the last poet of the village.
The old plank bridge is humble in my songs.
With extensive notes and commentary on the poet, his life, loves and the tumultuous times that straddled the Russian revolution, this new collection of beautiful poems brings to light an era of grand romance and high tragedy.
Roger Pulvers is an author, playwright, theater director, translator and filmmaker. He has published more than fifty books in Japanese and English, including novels, essays, plays and poetry. Working as assistant to director Oshima Nagisa on
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
brought him back to Japan and inspired him to become the award-winning playwright, film director and prolific author he is today. His novel,
Hoshizuna Monogatari
(
Star Sand
), which he wrote in Japanese, was published by Kodansha, Japan's largest publisher, in 2015, and subsequently in English and French in 2016 and 2017 respectively. It was released as a film, directed by him, in 2017. His most recent books are the novels,
Half of Each Other
and
Peaceful Circumstances
, his autobiography,
The Unmaking of an American
, and a cultural memoir,
My Japan
, all published by Balestier Press.