Poem of the End: 6 Narrative Poems - Paperback

Tsvetaeva, Marina: - The life of Marina Tsvetaeva (1892-1941), now recognised as a major Russian and indeed European poet of the 20th century, was marked to an unusual extent by the political and ideological connflicts of her time. Born to a privileged background in Moscow, the revolutions of 1917 brought her crushing hardship and deprivation, but also ushered in a period of unparalleled creativity as poet and playwright. In 1922 she left for the west to rejoin her husband, who had fought with the counter-revolutionary forces. In 1925 the family moved from near Prague to Paris. Their existence was marked by appalling poverty and a growing alienation from the Russian émigré community. When in 1937 her husband was implicated in an assassination carried out by the Stalinist secret services, Tsvetaeva saw no alternative but to follow him back to the USSR. After the Nazis invaded Russia, she was evacuated to Yelabuga, where she took her own life in August 1941.Kossman, Nina: - Moscow born, Nina Kossman is a painter, sculptor, bilingual writer, poet and playwright. Her paintings and sculptures have been exhibited in Moscow, Philadelphia, and New York. The recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts translation fellowship, a UNESCO/PEN Short Story Award, grants from Foundation for Hellenic Culture and Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, she is the author of three books of poems in Russian and English as well as the translator of two volumes of Marina Tsvetaeva's poetry. Her other books include Behind the Border (HarperCollins,1994), Gods and Mortals: Modern Poems on Classical Myths (Oxford University Press, 2001), and a novel. Several of her plays have been produced off-off-Broadway. She lives in New York.