Georgian Literary Modernism: Poems by Titsian Tabidze, Paolo Iashvili and Galaktion Tabidze
Metamorphosis: A Journal of Literary Translation, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 66-103, 2009
54 Pages Posted: 18 Apr 2010 Last revised: 30 Jan 2011
Date Written: May 17, 2009
Abstract
This feature section, originally published in the literary journal Metamorphoses, introduces the poets Titsian Tabidze, Galaktion Tabidze, and Paolo Iashvili to an English readership. These three major exponents of the Georgian Literary Modernism were all either executed (Titsian) or committed suicide (Paolo and Galaktion) as a result of Stalin's and Beria's repressive policies. Collectively, these texts movingly testify to the intimate relation between politics and poetics in Georgian literature, as in other literatures of the former Soviet Union. An introduction called "The Twlight of Georgian Literary Modernism" is followed by the original Georgian texts and English translations of the following poems -- Titsian Tabidze: “Gunib,” “Galaktion Tabidze,” “Sergei Esenin,” "Black Sea," "Bandits Killed Me on the Banks of the Aragvi," “My Village in Spring,”; Paolo Iashvili: “From the Heights,” “My Table - My Parnassus,” “Poetry”; Galaktion Tabidze: “Exile,” “Amirani.” “Blue Horses.”
Neither the translations nor the Georgian texts are easily available. It is hoped that posting this material will stimulate interest in the the work of these visionary poets among scholars of world literature and literary modernism.
Keywords: Georgian Literature, Poetry, Literary Modernism
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