Poetry from India: poetry of Arbind Kumar Choudhary

It is always a big surprise to receive post from abroad. It’s always a bigger surprise to discover that inside there are more than one poetry books which arrived directly from thousands of kilometres away! This happened to me recently as I received an envelope from India and discovered three poetry collections from the hand of poet Arbind Kumar Choudhary.

I shall start with a direct reference to The Poet’s Preface written by Choudhary himself regarding the role of the critic: the work of the critic should aim towards “upgradation [his words] rather than humiliation.” It is this that I shall try to do in my brief reflection on the three books.

The three poetry collections were all published in 2011 and are the following: Love, The Poet and Nature. A.K. Choudhary’s poetry is concise: the three collections are made of individual quatrains; in all, the poet from India has gathered 682 of them. A quatrain is a stanza with four lines (one line longer than the haiku!); however, like the haiku, Choudhary’s quatrains are deep, profound and pose a real challenge to the reader, even though on the other hand the later is all the time asking himself is Choudhary is in reality joking or playing with words as if he was a child playing with a new toy, or in reality expressing deep thoughts. Reading Choudhary’s poems the reader feels that he is at the same time both near and far away from the answer, the real meaning behind the many tongue-twisters.

I must admit that as a reader from central Europe I did not find it easy to understand the what initially seemed to be an Anglo-Indian register used by A.K. Choudhary.  His poetry is based on a continuous play on words which for us Europeans may seem either neologisms created by the same author, linguistic idiosyncracies, or hybrids coined by A.K. Choudhary himself borrowing from different languages such as Greek or Latin (“enchiridion”, “odium”, “fide at amore”, “imperium”, “arcanum”, “zeugma”, “pontifex”, “pater noster”, “rhetor”), French (“parterre”, “belle”, “paysage”, “petit bourgeois”, “monde”, “litterateur”, “billet-doux”, “Ballader”, “chanson”, “affaire d’amour”, “raconteur”), Spanish (“desperado”, “pina colada”, “enchilada”) and Italian (“intaglio”, “maestro”, “tardo”, “maremma”, “Padre”, “fata morgana”). After thoroughly analyzing Choudhary’s use of diction I must say that the poet is totally in control of Language: the majority of the “whiz-words” exist in reality and can be found in the dictionary! In Nature this mixture of languages reflects the different colours (mainly gold and azure) and moods of Mother Nature during different seasons. In Love it reflects the different moments – physical, intimate, spiritual, sometimes even perverse – lovers experience together. In The Poet it manifests the poet as craftsman, the one who works with words and Language.

However, this did not serve always as an obstacle (the fact that I frequently was asking myself what may be the meaning of certain words chosen by the poet) but also as an advantage (the fact that all poetry is open to interpretation; thus A.K. Choudhary’s choice of diction making his poetry more open to interpretation, reflection, and, may I say “positive speculation”, but also one hundred percent intriguing). Choudhary himself believes that the “ultimate goal of the poet is to arouse the sensation, to fire the imagination and to mould the race even at the cost of his own life.” (Preface to The Poet)

Poetic intensity is the prime element for Choudhary. He manages to do this through a myriad of poetical mechanisms which he himself mentions in his quatrains, elements which “Bring to light the poetic paysage”: euphemisms, pun, paradox, imagery (many of Choudhary’s imagery is personal, original, even cerebral), hyperbole, metonymy, irony, litotes, synecdoche, hypallage, and symbolism, but also assonance, alliteration (both taken to the extreme) and mono-rhyme (which serves as an echo which continues in the reader’s mind). Thus that of Choudhary is also poetry as sound. At times Choudhary just changes the position of words from one quatrain to the next, thus changing meaning and opening doors to fresh interpretations. However, for Choudhary all these poetical devices take second place in the creation of his poetry.

The titles of the three collections themselves are revealing: Love, Nature and The Poet. They are three very important aspects in the life of Arbind Kumar Choudhary. The poet in general is a sensitive person and cannot escape reflecting on and pondering about everything that surrounds him. This is no pastime for the sensitive poet as he frequently feels what the common people feel, good and bad. In his Preface to The Poet, Choudhary writes that “it is the poet who pierces the nebulosity of mind and the heart of Tom, Dick and Harry” and “Like an expert surgeon the poet peeps not only into the unfathomed grief of the ailing souls but also suggests for the betterment of life.” Thus the poet is also “the surgeon of mind and heart”. Moreover, the poet’s “prime purpose is to lit the candle of wisdom amidst the nights of ignorance.” Some of Choudhary’s quatrains about the virtues of poetry are:

“Keat’s fragrance

Is a saving grace

Even for that dunce

Lining in somnolence.”;

or,

“The hackneyed pah

Of the sloth

Breaks with

The poetic zenith.”;

or,

“Keat’s solitude

Supersedes the horde.”;

or,

“Milton’s glittern

Is a malediction

For the tavern

Of the grime person.”

By nature poetry is life, energy, light, thrilling, divine, but also a gift which can be appreciated by an elected minority.

The poet is a by nature a good being, thus one of the main themes is Love. And love in Choudhary’s poetry is not only that between man and woman, but also love towards society in general. The poet expresses his love towards society even by bringing to the foreground its main problems. In this matter Choudhary’s poetry does not lack social consciousness.

Poet and nature are always presented in harmony. Nature is the space where the poet rests both physically and mentally, thus dedicating time to reflection and the creation of poetry. Nature is the “pious place” which Choudhary writes about in the Preface to his collection The Poet. It is also “the treasury of the spiritual wealth that spreads the message of love and peace amidst the sensitive minds to its utmost degree.” (Preface to Nature) Moreover, in this space the poet gets “immense pleasure at heart and soul”, with all its colours and sounds. Choudhary admits that nature is a friend, a well-wisher, mainly a source of his spiritual sensitivity. Thus, as in Romantic poetry, nature is a space which totally opposes the urban space where life is tough and rough. In Choudhary’s words, nature is no space for the “insensitive chaps”. In nature dwells also the spirit of love. Thus, again I return to the equation: nature=love=poet.

In nature live different non-human beings, mainly legendary, classical, Hindi, and mythological creatures (Pan, Cupid, Jove, Chhath – a sun god -, Ganga – the sacred river -, Majuli – a river where is believed to have played with his friends -, Lama – historically a term used for venerated spiritual masters -, Indra – god of war and thunderstorms). Choudhary’s nature is made up of both macro- and microcosmic beings. It is also a place where the “freakish” can also be “divine” (“The freakish flower/ Fires the power/ For the shower/ Of divine safflower.”). Nature is inhabited by flowers, insects, trees, birds, but also but the sun, the rainbow, the moon, canyons, waves, stars, meadows, rain, the ether itself. All of these inspire the poet and acquire meanings which go beyond the literary meaning and the physical world. This happens because Choudhary’s starting point is nature, but the real destination is reflection about different aspects of everyday life – birth, death, fate, love, passion, the relation with the gods, the state of being feminine, puberty, but also war, corruption and politics, concupiscence, fornication, incrimination, infidelity, hypocrisy, the abuse of power, and the social chasm between “affluent gentry” and “people’s misery”. In this light he calls the world a “valley of silly”, “a land of man without vision”, an “earth of sophistry”, a place where many go “without ego”, where “trash talk” and idlers rule the day. Faced with all this Choudhary writes:

“A guardian angel of the world

Is as good as gold

That flips lid

The eyelid of many a stupid.”

The present world is in great need of a guardian angel!

One can take hours speculating and ruminating on Choudhary’s quatrains. He himself writes that “To put up a good fight/ Is the writers might”. He does this in his poetry through wit and satire, but also through depth of thought and a lot of sensitivity. Choudhary’s poetry thus can also be understood as a fight and challenge.

__________ o __________

Intervistat fuq ir-radju Anton Sammut

L-awtur u Artist Anton Sammut ġie intervistat mill-preżentatriċi Monica Attard fuq wieħed mir-radjijiet lokali.

Waqt l-intervista Anton Sammut tkellem dwar ħajtu, il-kitbiet u l-arti tiegħu...

Min jixtieq jisma' l-intervista jista' jagħmel dan billi jżur dan il-link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRCkyGMxOvs

Three poetry collections from India

I have just received three poetry collections from Indian poet, Arbind Kumar Choudhary. The three books were all published in 2011 and are the following:

The three books are a collection of 682 quatrains in which A.K. Choudhary writes about various themes and aspects of everyday life. The poems are concise but in their very limited space they hide depth of thought and surely a challenge for the reader. The poet is a very sensitive person. He cannot be indifferent when faced with mankind's problems. A.K. Choudhary writes about nature, love, but also a thousand other elements which surround him as a citizen of multifaceted India but also as an inhabitant of the world.

A complete review of the three works will follow shortly.

A big thanks for A.K. Choudhary for sharing his poems with me.

Please visit: www.kohinoorjournal.blogspot.com
E-mail: kohnoor@rediffmail.com

Lejla Internazzjonali ta’ Poeżija f’B’Kara mill-Għaqda Poeti Maltin

 Parti mill-pubbliku li kien preżenti waqt il-Lejla ta' Poeżija Internazzjonali.

Il-President, Charles Magro, waqt id-diskors tal-ftuħ tiegħu.

Miriam Ellul, li mexxiet is-serata

Nhar il-Ġimgħa, 28 ta’ Settembru, 2012, fis-7 p.m., l-Għaqda Poeti Maltin tellgħet Lejla Internazzjonali ta’ Poeżija fis-sala ewlenija tal-Kunsill Lokali ta’ B’Kara. Lejla bħal din seħħet in kontemporanja ma’ lejliet ta’ poeżija oħra madwar id-dinja kollha bħala parti mill-inizzjattiva 100,000 Poets for Change li seħħet għall-ewwel darba fl-2011. Din    is-sena saru mat-800 reading f’115 pajjiż differenti. It-temi ewlenin ittrattati mill-poeti parteċipanti huma l-paċi, is-sostenibbiltà u l-bidla lejn dinja aħjar.

Il-Lejla nfetħet b’diskors tal-President tal-Għ.P.M., is-Sur Charles Magro, li wera          l-pjaċir tiegħu li Malta, permezz tal-Għaqda, kienet għal darb’oħra qed titpoġġa fuq       il-mappa dinjija permezz tal-parteċipazzjoni tagħha f’dan l-event internazzjonali. Qal ukoll li l-poeta għandu d-dmir li jaħdem biex iġib dinja aħjar, u dan permezz tal-poeżija tiegħu. Matul il-Lejla mtella’ mill-Għ.P.M. u li għaliha attendew bosta persuni, ipparteċipaw mal-15-il poeta li qraw poeżiji bil-Malti, bl-Ingliż u bit-Taljan. Il-Lejla tmexxiet minn Miriam Ellul, il-P.R.O. tal-Għaqda u l-kantanta lirika Analise Schiriha żewqet l-avveniment b’kanzunetti jew għanjiet mir-repertorju liriku Malti u internazzjonali.

Għal darb’oħra avveniment bħal dan seta’ jseħħ bl-għajnuna tal-membru attiv u poeta, Therese Pace. Avveniment bħal dan u l-poeżiji li nqraw matul il-Lejla se jittella’ fuq is-sit virtwali u internazzjonali www.100TPC.org Wara s-serata dawk preżenti kienu mistiedna għal bibita.

Lejla Internazzjonali ta' Poeżija f'B'Kara

L-Għaqda Poeti Maltin se ttella' Lejla Internazzjonali ta' Poeżija nhar il-Ġimgħa, 28 ta' Settembru, fis-7 p.m. f'kollaborazzjoni mal-avveniment internazzjonali 100 Thousand Poets for Change. 

Il-post se jkun il-Kunsill Lokali ta' Birkirkara, Ċentru Ċiviku, Triq Tumas Fenech (wara l-Knisja ta' Santa Liena). 

L-idea wara dan l-avveniment internazzjonali huwa biex tinħoloq kuxjenza favur il-bidla ambjentali, soċjali u politika, u dan kollu fi struttura ta' paċi u sostenibbilta'. 

Għalhekk il-Membri tal-Għaqda Poeti Maltin, flimkien ma' dawk kollha li għandhom għal qalbhom il-poeżija u anki dak kollu li hu favur il-paċi, huma mistiedna jattendu u jġibu magħhom poeżiji, anki b'ilsna differenti, biex jaqrawhom quddiem dawk preżenti. 

Ma ninsewx li din il-Lejla se tkun parti minn avveniment internazzjonali li għandu l-istess għanijiet. Malta diġa' pparteċipat is-sena l-oħra f'dan l-avveniment permezz tal-Għaqda Poeti Maltin. Nerġgħu nkunu preżenti u nħajru lil dawk ta' madwarna biex jattendu, jaqraw jew jisimgħu poeżiji differenti biex ningħaqdu ma' bosta pajjiżi oħra mid-dinja kollha.

Massive Global Movement Gives Voice to Local Issues through Music, Art, Photography, Poetry, Mime and More Over 800 Events Planned in 115 Countries for 100 Thousand Poets for Change

Santa Rosa, Calif. (September 19, 2012) – September 29, 2012 marks the second

annual global event for 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a grassroots organization that brings communities together to call for environmental, social, and political change within the framework of peace and sustainability. An event that began primarily with poet organizers, 100 Thousand Poets for Change has grown into an interdisciplinary coalition with year round events which includes musicians, dancers, mimes, painters and photographers from around the world.

Local issues are still key to this massive global event as communities around the world raise their voices on issues such as homelessness, global warming, education, racism and censorship through concerts, readings, lectures, workshops, flash mobs, theater performances and other actions.

But these locally focused events have taken on a more continuous and expansive form through the new disciplines represented this year. For example, photographers are making a long-term project out of the event; they will document the involvement of their communities and explore connections with the broader global issues to turn into future exhibits. More and more organizers and participants of the one day, annual event are making plans to continue their actions after September 29. Many have formed groups in their cities that will continue to work year-round towards the goals their community seeks.

“Peace and sustainability are major concerns worldwide, and the guiding principles for this global event,” said Michael Rothenberg, Co-Founder of 100 Thousand Poets for Change. “We are in a world where it isn't just one issue that needs to be addressed. A common ground is built through this global compilation of local stories, which is how we create a true narrative for discourse to inform the future.”

More than 200 hundred bands will be performing around the world, from Los Angeles, New Orleans and Detroit to Serbia, Nigeria and Italy. The musicians involved in this movement are once again using their songs and performances to try to communicate their concerns to the world. As Ross Altman, singer-songwriter, activist and educator, reminds us: “from Plato, who banned [musicians] from the Republic, to Putin, who had Russian punk band members of Pussy Riot arrested, charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for a song prayer, musicians throughout history have been regarded as a danger and threat to change the social order.”

In addition to the hundreds of musicians expressing themselves through song, numerous Mimes for Change events in Egypt, Turkey and Uruguay will take place in addition to the day long poetry festivals in Los Angeles, Guatemala City, Pune, India, La Plata, Argentina and Genoa, Italy; thousands of musicians, poets and artists are participating around the world, totaling nearly 800 events globally, including:

• 25 different events in the San Francisco Bay Area, the birthplace of 100 Thousand Poets for Change, including poetry readings by Beat Legend Michael McClure, former US Poet Laureate Robert Hass and other major poets at the famed Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival

• In New Orleans, 15 live bands will perform to raise funds for the APEX Youth Center and Homegrown Harvest Music and Arts Festival

• In Hollywood, Florida, Global Vibes will host an event called, “War Destroys Children’s Lives” at two venues and feature over 15 “Bands for Change”

• Peace On Streets, R.O.A.D., Tasker Elite and SHARP will host performance artists, poets, musicians, hip hop artists and various youth and parent groups who will perform and lead workshops throughout Philadelphia to bring awareness to the ongoing problem of street violence in their city

• Wordstock, a 3-day festival at the Bamboo Arts and Celebration Center in De Leon Springs, FL will include poetry slams, concerts, and an art exhibition focusing on images of war and peace

• The Occupy Wall Street Poetry group kicks off a weekend of events in New York City with a poetry reading at the famous St. Mark’s Poetry Project

• In Jamaica, a week long Street Dub Vibe series called “Tell the Children the Truth” will include concerts, spoken word performances, art exhibits, lectures and workshops to bring attention to the damaging culture of secrecy and denial surrounding the abuse, poverty and illiteracy impacting the nation’s children and destroying their future.

• Poetry and peace gatherings are planned in the strife-torn cities of Kabul and

Jalalabad, Afghanistan 

• In Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, poets, musicians and mime artists, in response to violence in the world and the major changes taking place in the Arab World, will perform in public spaces and theaters and explore new ways to communicate their concerns, and their roles as artists, in influencing the future of their country

• In Volos, Greece, there will be 5 days of poetry and music events, including an

exhibition of photography looking at the new phenomenon of homelessness in Greece

• An event in Blackpool, England will celebrate activist poets and writers of past

generations through a special performance of Bullets and Daffodils, a play about the life of peace poet Wilfred Owen

Organizers and participants are hoping through their actions and events to seize and redirect the political and social dialogue of the day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace and sustainability. Those that want to get involved can visit www.100tpc.org to find an event near them or sign up to organize one in their area.

About 100 Thousand Poets for Change

100 Thousand Poets for Change began in Sonoma County, Calif. The official

Headquarters’ Event will take place at the Arlene Francis Center in downtown Santa Rosa and will feature poetry readings, group meditations, workshops, and music and dance of various styles including hip hop, flamenco, African drums, reggae, salsa, folk and more. The HQ event will also live-stream other 100 Thousand Poets for Change events worldwide. This 3-day event is sponsored by the Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County and the Sonoma County Arts Council. 

Immediately following September 29th, all documentation on the 100TPC.org website, which will include specific event pages with photos, video and other documentation compiled by each city coordinator, will be preserved by Stanford University in California. Stanford recognized 100 Thousand Poets for Change in 2011 as an historical event, the largest poetry reading in history. They will continue to archive the complete contents of 100TPC.org, as part of their digital archiving program LOCKSS.

Co-Founder Michael Rothenberg (walterblue@bigbridge.org) is a widely known poet, editor of the online literary magazine Bigbridge.org and an environmental activist based in Northern California. Terri Carrion is a poet, translator, photographer, and editor and visual designer for BigBridge.org.

100 Thousand Poets for Change

P.O. Box 870

Guerneville, Ca 95446

Phone: 305-753-4569

www.100TPC.org

The poetry of Dr. Adolf P. Shvedchikov - RUSSIA

Dr. Adolf P. Shvedchikov, PhD, LittD, is a Russian scientist, poet and translator. He was born in 1937, Shakhty, Russia. He has over 500 poems published in different international magazines of poetry which have been translated into numerous languages. Shvedchikov is a member of the International Society of Poets, of the World Congress of Poets, the International Association of Writers and Artists, and the Associazione Letteraria Italo-Australiana Scrittori (A.L.I.A.S.) of Melbourne, Australia.

Introduction:

I have read some of his poems and must admit that they are highly readable. The language he uses is crystal clear, with no hermeneutic juggling of words. Still Shvedchikov’s poems leave space for ample reflection and pondering about the truth expressed in these concise writings. There is still depth in his clarity of language. The images he uses are beautiful and pleasant for the reader who loves poetry (for example, memory is compared to a “storehouse of countless emotions” in The memory is an amusing thing) which aims to communicate in general positive things and thus help to live life, with its ups and downs, with a smile. The words pass on to the reader the beauty of the poet from the inside; words give life and give solidity to the thoughts (which are abstract) of the poet. At times Shvedchikov adds wonder to his poems by using rhyme, mostly the ABBA or ABAB types, thus presenting some of his poems as rhyming quatrains. In other occasions Shvedchikov opts for free verse.

The reader of Shvedchikov’s poetry soon notes that his are poems which can be divided in three sections:

i.                    there are those where the “I” perspective is used:

“I paint your unknown portrait […] I live simply without a care” (from I paint your unknown portrait);

“I will never stop to wonder […] I still stay happy hearing drops of rain” (from I will never stop to wonder);

“I feel the aroma of ripe apples./ I know that many years later” (from I feel the aroma of ripe apples);

“I am rolling along an endless way […] I suffer from a web of lies,/ I don’t want my early demise,/ I don’t want to go astray./ I prefer a self-made law” (from The taste of a bitter life);

ii.                  there are those where the “we” perspective is adopted:

“Our life is an endless conflict […] We cannot give empty promises./ We must learn the art of diplomacy” (from Our life is an endless conflict);

“Eternally we pose questions before nature […] We try to sharpen/ Our mind without success” (from Eternally we pose questions before nature);

“We come naked to this world/ And live like bisexual creatures” (from We come naked to this world);

“We all are different people/ With different colour of skin and eyes” (from We all are different people);

iii.                there are poems where the poet addresses the “you”:

“When you said goodbye to your love […] You have opened the gates of Hell” (from The path to Hell);

“You are not celestial, you are a terrestrial creature!/ You need your own home” (from Everyone has a house somewhere);

“You keep the sensuality of night/ On your majestic shoulders” (from On your majestic shoulders);

“You create your own sunset and sunrise,/ You live in your painted paradise” (from The kaleidoscope of your fantasy).

In category (i) the poet is more personal (although true poetry then reaches the universal dimension too); in category (ii) the poet becomes one with all humanity and voices universal moral, environmental and other concerns; in category (iii) poems there is an “I” and “you” dialectic which aims to the discovery of different truths in relation to humanity and the world that surrounds it.

Themes:

In his poetry Adolf P. Shvedchikov celebrates simple and small things in everyday life such as love, life itself, beauty, the seasons, home and others. Overall, he is a positive poet, even though he is conscious of death and other limitations.

Poetry – In I have such a hobby Shvedchikov states that for him poetry is more than a hobby. It is the fruit of the real craftsman and words are born from fire. The poet is inspired not only by sounds and colours, but also by silence itself. Silence is made “tangible” through poetry (see Tell me, what silence means?). Poetry is also part of the search for happiness and sincerity (The lines of the verses swirl like snowflakes). In I tried like Sergei Esenin to race on a rose-coloured horse Shvedchikov remembers this Russian lyrical poet who lived between 1895 and 1925. Poetry as reflection is stated in Put parallel mirrors in front of each other. In this case poetry reflects the person who is writing; however, real poetry is universal, thus the writing self finally disappears to reach universal and infinite dimensions (“You disappear completely,/ Your train of thought leads you into infinity…”). Poetry is also a state to be reached in How do drops of poetry appear?: poetry is “Where everything transforms into a fairy tale,/ And you become happy like a child!”.

When I’ll be far away is about poetical magic: poetry is understood as something that gives man an eternal dimension but also as something that is also linked to joy and helps one to face death with a smile. “Poetry is a goddess with many faces” in the poem which has the same name. The writing of poetry is linked to the soul in Oh, let my soul sing the mystic song! “Song” here is poetry itself, a song which is “melodious” and “strong” and brings “to people gladness, mirth and joy”.  Poetry is pleasure, colour and fire in The nature of poet which I am quoting in full:

“The poet is an artist, painting in his pleasure.

He doesn’t need brushes or mute canvas,

He uses different instruments, alas,

The proper words commensurate with measure.

Epithets and metaphors are his treasure.

He paints upon an invisible canvas of mind,

His art may see by even the blind,

Obtaining a myriad of genuine pleasure!

And mixing joy with the severest pain,

Igniting your sensitive heart’s fire,

He moves your wondrous imagination higher,

Inviting you into his illustrious reign!”

The “you” in The kaleidoscope of your fantasy may be the artist or the poet himself. Fantasy and imagination are linked to life, while boredom means death: “You create your own sunset and sunrise,/ You live in your painted paradise…” Song and poetry still echoes even many years after the death of the poet. And this quality is blessed by God: “Let God bless that magnificent year,/ When you still hear my echoing song…” (Perhaps you’ll hear my forgotten song). In Wait! Shvedchikov addresses a “great poet” and writes about “The expanse of [his] poetical sea” and asks “How far are extended the roots of your tree?” Metaphorically here poetry is compared to vast spaces that may even reach great depths.

Love – A number of Shvedchikov’s poems discuss the theme of love and sensuality. While the poet is a believer in God, he admits that he is also in need of a Goddess: “I need a Goddess, / To make sky blue at midnight!/ I want to dream about her smile,/ About her supple figure,/ I want to kiss her white breast” (see Man is in need of God). Shvedchikov writes about his lover’s “majestic shoulders”, her “attractive eyes” (in On your majestic shoulders), her skin’s smell, her “tender palms” (I am pleased by smell of your skin). Love is understood as an international language in The language of love: it “speaks without words!” It annihilates the signs of age (When you are able to love), and thus in I remember still that moist sand the poet writes that “I still hope/ That your love will never fade,/ And your footprints will stay/ Once and for all on that seashore!” Through poetry Shvedchikov declares his love to his beloved one: “I would like to tell you,/ That you are my biggest treasure,/ I love you in the fullest measure,/ I am all yours without residue!” (If I could put my feelings into words). In I would like to stay with you he declares “Being your endless rolling wave,/ My beloved, I’m ready to waive/ From old life and melt into you.” In the absence of love life becomes rough: “All our feelings melted like wax,/ How rough is reality’ axe,/ When nothing strikes a sensitive chord…”

Sensual love is linked to joy in How divine is dance of joy!: what Shvedchikov suggests to his reader is, “Have sensual pleasure and enjoy!/ Feel the pulsation of thirsty lips,./ Your heart beats quickly to and fro,/ You are so happy with what’s in store,/ How alluring is love nectar’s sips!”. Love “warms the hearts/ And gives joy to people day and night!” (Myriad cupolas of love).

Love is portrayed even through colours. In The red light of non-transmitted messages Shvedchikov writes about the “fresh green leaf”, the “rainbow”, the “red light” in order to say that at times we love somebody through a language which is not understood by the other. In Earth and heaven the poet looks at “the reddish straw of your hair”: Shvedchikov has no limits in expressing his love to the person he loves. Reaching ecstasy happens not only through love but also through poetry itself as words themselves become an expression of true love. In Love at first sigh Shvedchikov writes about her “coral lips”, the “night violet” and the “turquoise sky”. Love and colours (but also sounds and tastes) are seen also in I paint your unknown portrait: “I paint your unknown portrait/ On the sand of yellow, velvety dunes […] I blend into one/ The sunlight and radiance of the moon […] I keep in my mind the same morning dew/ And your divine face!”

Love is also play and desire (I wish I were…). I cannot promise to bring you sunny day is a promise of love made up of devotion and tranquillity. What Shvedchikov offers is a love which is long-lasting, shy and honest, thus a kind of love that not everybody is ready to accept. On the other hand there is “incomprehension’s abyss!” (I am a fluttering bird soaring in the sky). Finally, love is also understood as light in The first kiss: “There is a fresh fragrance of the first kiss,/ It is powerful flame that lights up your heart”.

Social problems – The poet is a special and very sensitive being. He has an eye also for all the injustice and suffering that is happening in our world. His way of reacting is through words and poetry. Shvedchikov writes about suffering in general in We come naked to this world and poses a rhetorical question: “Why is reality so cruel and why is our life/ So full of suffering and tears?”  The answer to such a question comes out in a number of poems that follow. The poet addresses the problem of hunger and poverty in God says to share a piece of bread with somebody else. In Our life is an endless conflict he writes about war and the weakness of peace and friendship in the human world. Faced with such weakness the poet suggests diplomacy and “a reasonable compromise!” as a solution. War and hatred are the subject matter of This is war without end: Shvedchikov is right when he writes, “The plague of hatred has been wandering for/ Too long around the world,/ And mankind becomes mad!/ People forget about Heaven,/ The hope for good disappears…” In The taste of a bitter life he writes, “I am sick from the violence and decay”. However for Shvedchikov the worst enemy of humankind is the evil which resides within man himself. In Don’t search for the devil in the bushes he warns against the devil and writes, “He is inside of you, he is you fear eternal!” Again, Shvedchikov’s religious dimension reveals itself through such statements: man has distanced himself too much from God and so he has to face various negative consequences.

Shvedchikov’s environmental cry is expressed in All of us are connected by the same chain which takes the form of a warning: mankind must respect what nature has built in millenniums (“Don’t be silly because nature/ has checked everything many times”). My poor flower, I still don’t understand is about the clash between nature (flower, sprouts) and progress (asphalt, stones, tar, sand, “clouds of exhaust gas”).

Problems we have to face and living a better life – Shvedchikov is all the time aware of the fact that “life is not simple” (When you understand that life is not simple). He knows that “We cannot be happy when the weather is cold” (Sometimes life gives us rigid lessons), that “We are tourists in this world” and that “death…/ It is mishap and nonsense!” (Nobody thinks about our own death).

The poet speaks about reality with no half terms: he writes about “nothingness” (Paradox of time). In Beauty is like a rose in blossom Shvedchikov reminds us that beauty is short lived and that one has to be realistic and sincere enough to accept the fact that the last destination is nothingness and death: “Everything is over including/ The gallop of mad horses./ You fall into nothingness to forget about the past.” On the other hand, the moment of death can be also revealing and an answer to life enigmas. In I stay bewitched the poet writes “I stay bewitched/ By myriad lights./ I am reborn again/ At the end of my life!”

However, that against death and nothingness is not a lost battle for Shvedchikov. He reacts to such a notion in Reject an old truth “From dust to dust” when he writes that “We are not dust, we are human beings […] We are valuable part of magic Wonderland”. Shvedchikov reacts against the notion of death by writing about birth, joy and happiness in life:

“On this marvellous moment of birth!

Of child…of joy…of freedom…

The instant of sensuality, inspiration,

Of all those minutes of joy which nature gives us!

Without these moments of happiness

Our life would be unbearable… full of tears…”

                                                                         (On this marvellous moment of birth)

In Miracle of life the poet puts aside all sorrow in order to embrace the “Miracle of life”, which is his “religion” and “eternal priority”. During hard times Shvedchikov suggests someone to share the dark moments with in order to survive (When the ferocious wind comes). In Sometimes life gives us rigid lessons the poet knows that although “The sun shines friendly, the grass is green”, “this joyful day will not be last./ Our soul is full of rains again in autumn.” However, Shvedchikov remains optimistic and writes, “we still have a little ray of hope/ Which brings warmth to our soul!”

That of Shvedchikov is poetry which can be also understood as practical philosophy which helps one to deal better with life’s “pitfalls” (When you understand that life is not simple). One of Shvedchikov’s rules against drowning is to “Learn to play, learn to laugh,/ To solve numerous problems,/ Learn to love, learn to fight” (Learn to swim like a dog). In The sad thought is a dangerous virus the poet adds to this by writing, “And be engaged in sport/ Or fall in love again!” Wild grasses addresses all those who know how to survive difficult times.

In a number of his poems Shvedchikov discusses old age as opposed to youth.  The concept of Running of time is conveyed through the manifestations of different seasons and nature (“snow”, “summer”, “autumn”). It is poetry that keeps the poet young even if he is fully conscious that he has reached old age. In Old woman the poet compares “The wrinkles of life, enfeebled body, old/ age” to “the folds on a bed sheet”. The mature poet writes about the changes brought by time and remembers his youth days in How carefree are early seventeenth and in I remember (“I remember every glorious day/ Of my splendid radiant youth”).

Faced with old age Shvedchikov expresses more than once a desire for weightlessness. In I would like to be the wind he wishes to lose his human characteristics and be detached from all problems and all that limits him in order to become free as the wind (“I would like to be the wind who seeks/ Space in the unlimited bright sky […] I would like to be the wind in eternal glee…”). In another instance he writes “I wish I were immortal wings […] I wish I were a playful breeze” (I wish I were…), and again, “I am a fluttering bird soaring in the sky” (I am a fluttering bird soaring in the sky).

Nature and beauty – Every poet in a way or another feels part of nature and refers to both the micro- (the smallest of creatures such as the nightingale, the seagull, seeds, “ripe apples”, the flight of cranes, flowers, leaves, snowflakes) and the macrocosm (the sunlight, the sea, the wind, the dunes, the moon, the rainbow) in his verse. Shvedchikov is no exception. Many times his feelings and reflections are conveyed through natural imagery. The beauty of Shvedchikov’s poetry manifests itself through nature’s beauty: “The lines of the verses swirl like snowflakes,/ And the winter wind pushes them into snowdrifts […] Like yellow leaves they dance in the autumn…” (The lines of the verses swirl like snowflakes). The poet expresses a strong sense of wonder as he faces the changes brought by the natural seasons. Through nature he celebrates the beauty of life: “The spring fragrance grows in our blood,/ We walk and smile simply:/ This is not celestial, this is terrestrial paradise!” (Clouds float in the blue sky).

Spirituality – Adolf P. Shvedchikov is also a spiritual poet. He admits that Man is in need of God. He leaves it in the hands of God to decide about our final destiny. In The past disappeared into nothingness he writes:

“We celebrate Christmas,

But we know nothing about the next world.

We think that when the Judgement Day comes,

Everyone will get what he deserves.

[…]

But what to do with those

Who were sinful but tried to find the right path?

The situation is open to question.

But thank God! We are still alive…”

In We all are different people Shvedchikov writes about what makes humankind one: “But what unites us […] It is our dream because everyone/ Thinks about the Promised Land.” Another spiritual poem is The ocean depths of my immortal soul: during the darkest moments there is the soul which comforts the poet. Spirituality reaches where human limitations cannot, and in this case soul and God become one.

Conclusion:

Those of Shvedchikov are poems which can be read more than once as every individual reading generates satisfaction and a sense of wonder and awe in the reader (regularly expressed in his poems through the use of the exclamation mark. However the exclamation mark in Shvedchikov’s poetry denotes assertion too). Shvedchikov’s poetry speaks directly from the heart and addresses the reader who appreciates sublime poetry in its simplicity, clarity, and sincerity. It tackles with different aspects of life and is directly linked to all that which makes us human beings. In a certain sense that of Shvedchikov is poetry as therapy in that it keeps closely linked to what every one of us experiences both from the outside and the inside and tries to make us feel better.

Patrick Sammut (September 2012)