Title: Waiting for the Muse: Poems of Anna Akhmatova
Author: Frances Laird
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-6655-3645-5
Genre: Poetry
Pages: 270
Reviewed by: Susan Brown
Pacific Book Review
Anna Akhmatova is considered to be one of Russia’s greatest poets. Her life, largely dominated by the turbulence of the restrictive governing of first Vladimir Lenin and then Joseph Stalin, was filled with challenge and suffering, but sustaining her through it all was her Muse. This Muse, the source of inspiration for all of her poetry “was a constant, though constantly changing companion throughout her life as a poet.”
Waiting for the Muse: Poems of Anna Akhmatova, set against the backdrop of her dramatic life, is a compilation of new translations of her extraordinary poetry. The author, who has a master’s degree in Russian language and literature, has with meticulous focus brought Akhmatova’s poetry to life in as authentic translation as possible, based on her expertise.
Ms. Laird has structured this anthology in such a way that each of the nine chapters features a selection of Ahkmatova’s poetry, an analysis and interpretation by the author of the poems, as well as biographical details about the poet’s life. Woven into the narrative is ongoing exploration of the significance of The Muse as the source for all of Ahkmatova’s poetic inspiration.
The Muse, much like an intimate and trusted friend, never leaves her, although the nature of its voice changes throughout the years. Her poems reflect this. In her early writings the Muse embodies a capricious young woman, but as Ahkmatova’s life in Russia becomes oppressive her Muse, and subsequently her poetry, embodies the suffering, fear and torment that she is living under.
Ahkmatova’s poetry is replete with her attempts to make sense of the world around her; they are full of beauty, sadness, love, tragedy, loss, delight and even some joy. At times, she had to write the poems in her head, committing to memory the words she could not risk, for fear of imprisonment, putting on paper. Friends memorized her poetry, ensuring that it would not be lost or forgotten.
I think the urge to create is an amazing trait, one that drove Akhmatova throughout her life, even in her darkest times. The notion that thoughts must be committed to paper, that it’s not a choice but a calling, is what puts Akhmatova in the realm of great Russian poets. Her poetry captured, not just in words, but in tone and rhythm and meter the best and worst of the human condition — hers, as well as those around her. The significance of this anthology is not just in the new translations, it is in the power of each poem to awaken in us feelings of compassion, sympathy, tenderness, affection, empathy and passion. That is what this author has given us. That and an awakening to the vitality imbued is this remarkable poet’s work:
At night when I am waiting for her coming It seems my life is hanging by a strand. — The Muse, 1924
