Rhyming the National Spirit: Taras Shevchenko and Ilia Chavchavadze

The paper is a comparative inquiry into the roles of Ilia Chavchavadze (1837-1907) and Taras Shevchenko (1818-1861) as national poets and anti-colonial (anti-Tsarist) intellectuals within the context of their respective national traditions (Georgia and Ukraine). During the period of their activity (19th and the beginning of 20th century) both Ukraine and Georgia were under Tsarist imperial rule, albeit the two poets lived in different periods of Russian empire history. Through their major works, each called on their communities to ‘awaken’ and ‘revolt’ against oppression, rejected social apathy caused by Tsarist subjugation and raised awareness about the historical past of their nations. The non-acceptance of present and belief in an independent future was one of the dominant themes in the poetry and prose of both. Their contemporary importance is illustrated in political discourse both after Orange Revolution in Ukraine (2004), and Rose Revolution in Georgia (2003) where both poets are referred “as founding fathers of national ideology”, the history textbooks alluding to them as “symbols of anti-colonial resistance”. To this day, however, there has been surprisingly little academic writing in the West endeavoring to compare the works and activities of the two poets and their impact on national mobilization in Tsarist Ukraine and Georgia, even though their countries are often mentioned in a same breath by commentators on contemporary culture and politics. The paper attempts to fill this gap and tries to understand the relationship between literature and social mobilization in 19th century Russian Empire. By reflecting on Taras Shevchenko’s and Ilia Chavchavadze’s poetry, prose and social activism, I will try to explain how in different periods of Russian imperial history, the two poets helped to develop a modern form of political belonging among their compatriots and stimulated an anti-colonial mobilization with different political outcomes. To theorize on the role of poets and novelists in anti-colonial national movement, I will reflect on the writings of Benedict Anderson (1991), John Hutchinson (1994; 1999), Rory Finnin (2005; 2011) and problematize Miroslav Hroch’s (1996) three phase model of the development of national movements. Overall, the paper would aim to show the importance of, what John Hutchinson called, ‘cultural nationalists’ in understanding contemporary nationalist discourse in Georgian and Ukrainian societies.

Cleverer than we thought: the change in discourse of the Georgian Orthodox Church

This paper will focus on three episodes of contemporary church-state relations in Georgia, in particular, the conflicting interaction between law and religion in the public space. The first episode will be an open confrontation between the church and the state over the law on Registration of Religious Minority organizations (2011) which allowed the religious minorities to freely register; second: the Law on Self-governance (2013) which Georgian Orthodox Church considered “a threat to territorial integrity of Georgia”; and lastly: the Law on Anti-discrimination (2014) which was deemed “legitimization of Sodomic sin”. By reflecting on the three examples where for the first time after the collapse of Soviet Union, the Georgian state openly confronted the church and made a decision notwithstanding its position, I will attempt to argue that the role of the Orthodox Church in influencing the law making process is in gradual decline. However, on the other hand, by presenting the results of an ethnographic study conducted in 23 eparchies and perishes in 7 regions of Georgia in 2014, I will also show that church has adapted to its declining role over policy making, and to regain its political influence it gradually started to employ a civic rather than ethno nationalist discourse on matters of religious freedom while engaging with government. The paper will suggest that both unilateral decision-making of the state and civic shift in the discourse of the church constitute an important change in understanding church-state dynamics in the post-communist Orthodox Christianity dominated society.

Anthology of modern jewish poetry

ed. with an introduction by Philipp M. Raskin

Poetry and religion

by Israel Abrahams. With a foreword by Arthur Quiller-Couch

The historical poetry of the ancient Hebrews

transl. and critically examined by Michael Heilprin

Poetry Chapbook: Red Light Laughter

"Red Light Laughter" is a poetry chapbook containing 20 poems written and edited extensively by Marcus Lloyd Rummell. The poetry included ranges from as recent as April 2010 to as late as January 2009. The book also contains notes, for reference when necessary, and was professionally designed by Lindsey Voskowsky, who is currently employed at the Yale Center of Design.

Popular poetry of the Russian Jews

by Leo Wiener

The poetical works of Oliver Goldsmith : with an account of the life and writings of the author : to which is added a prefatory essay, containing a critical dissertation on his poetry

by J. Aikin, M.D, Oliver Goldsmith

Reliques of ancient English poetry : consisting of old heroic ballads, songs, and other pieces of our earlier poets, (chiefly of the lyric kind) : together with some few of later date

[edited by Thomas Percy]

Lecturas “dirigidas" de la poesía estadounidense : The new american poetry (1960) y Legitimate dangers (2006)

Este artículo estudia dos antologías de poesía estadounidense publicadas en su país de origen en 1960 y en 2006, respectivamente: The New American Poetry, compilada por Donald Allen, y Legitimate Dangers: American Poets of the New Century, por Michael Dumanis y Cate Marvin. A cincuenta años de la aparición de la primera, la crítica reconoce la función rupturista, renovadora y, a la vez, seminal de la selección de Allen, quien presentaba su texto como una colección de poetas y poemas opuestos al “verso académico". Del mismo modo, Dumanis y Marvin presentan una antología que busca difundir autores jóvenes cuya poesía propone el riesgo como valor fundamental. Nuestro enfoque compara y contrasta ambas antologías, para señalar los aspectos comunes, las declaraciones de principios y las poéticas subyacentes a ambas, y los procesos de canonización que llevan a cabo.