麻豆约拍

麻豆约拍 Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the 麻豆约拍's radio poetry archive with Poetry and the Russian Soul.

A short but epic adventure through the heart and soul of Russia's poetry. Martin Sixsmith explores the 'strange kind of love' - often fatal - that Russia's poets have had for their homeland. And asks can you understand Russia better through its verse?

"and poetry awakens in me" (Vasili Pushkin- Autumn) Poetry is uniquely linked to Russian identity and nationhood. Effectively a creation of the 18th century, it was vital in creating a natural language and form of expression as modern Russia forged a separate identity from the old world of the Slavonic church.

Pushkin was its first hero and remains the archetype of the brilliant but doomed poet whose quest for the essential truth of his nation and people carries with it fatal consequences. Russia, after all, is one of the few countries where writing poetry can amount to a death sentence.

Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 in 2008.