Poets between War and Reconciliation
The war in the Ukraine is daily news. This Russian Ukrainian conflict conceals the many attempts to keep the dialogue between the two countries alive. Poetry plays an important role in that dialogue as will be illustrated by examples of contemporary poetry from both sides. I have added my own voice to the dialogue.
I am a Dutch national born in Nijmegen the Netherlands in 1946, who moved to South Africa in April 1994. I retired in September 2011 as a lifelong learning specialist from the University of the Western Cape, Division for Lifelong Learning. Since my retirement I concentrate on creative writing, Western and Egyptian classical music and curate Eastern European films at Cinemuse in Stellenbosch. I produced a few multimedia productions for the Egyptian Society of South Africa in which I explored the influence of Ancient Egypt as a source of inspiration for western styled classical composers worldwide.
Currently I explore the role that the creative arts can play in resolving the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.
Reading and reciting poetry was with me since the primary school in The Netherlands. I never wrote my own. My father was among other a concert singer and accompanied himself at home on the piano while singing numerous Schubert poems. My family is a family of musicians and composers. When you Google ‘Jan Koetsier’ you find a treasure house of compositions performed worldwide (YouTube). Like all composing Koetsiers they left earth at 90+.
What ultimately opened up poetry in me was a film by the Armenian film maker Sergei Paradjanov (1924-1990), ‘The colour of pomegranates (1969)’. The film depicts the life of the medieval Armenian King of Song ‘Sayat Nova’. I saw it in 1983. The film always stayed in my heart and fully remerged after the tragic death of a cousin in September 1988, who worked for Medicines without Frontiers at Shongwe Hospital. Four months later I took an A5 office pad and started a few sketches. Amazingly poetry emerged. The structure of Paradjanov’s film guided me through an unknown dimension of writing. ‘John, de geschiedenis van een leven’ was the first of a number of series of poems in Dutch.
When I moved to South Africa in 1994 the poet in me fell silent. Time was consumed by raising a young family, securing a job and mountains of academically based writings and interactions with thousands of students, parents and staff.
In August 2008 the poet was resurrected in a writers group mentored by Dorian Haarhoff. For the first time I started delving into the rich complexities of the English language, which was much easier now as English was used all day around me.
Nature, birds, castles, inner excavations of mind and heart, reflections on music and more were born. I share one example that illustrates the wonders of an unexpected entry into a narrative that never ends. For me poetry is giving space to the unexpected.
Directions to anywhere
It never started and it never stops. Only now I embody it into script, as an outpour of refreshing spring rain for all seasons. It murmurs in all languages, 24/7, narrated, scribbled, printed, revised but still inadequately expressed.
There is no distance between the pen and the pen-pusher. It is all me and the meaning unfolds with every word.
I have committed myself to clarity and use a calligraphy that I can decipher even in the dark. And this flow from the unknown to the known is supported by a glass of red wine, the natural enhancer of the poet.
No “Once-upon-a-times”, as there is no beginning or end, just strings of words that reveal the inner truth of an unfolding story-line.
Yes, I admit, I’ll want to stay as close as possible to a source which I can never fully describe. It takes on words and images in black, white and colour, millions of shades of being, sometimes unbearable, creating ulcers in my mind. The incomplete utterances are like a blocked sewage. Do you smell a rat? Yes, more than one, carried away on an underground stream of self-quotations.
And when I dare to step out bright skies appear, bumble bees and humming birds in all colours and the hammering of workers who live in shacks and build a 7 million Rand house in upper-suburbia.
A tiny silver thread connects me with my own past. How much can I release of this continuously unwinding process that takes me to a future with no urge to reconstruct.
I scribble the multiple layers of the writer’s mind. And suddenly the pen stops. I hear the squeaking seagulls on the roof of the potato factory in Lamberts Bay and I have arrived where I never expected to go when I jotted down the title of this narrative.
Femininity and Masculinity in the films of Alexander Sokurov (1951- ) presented in May 2016.
Gifts
Jos Koetsier
Poets between War and
Reconciliation: An Iconic Journey into Ukrainian-Russian Poetry
Portraits
and names and areas of Art from the Ukraine and the Russian Federation and how
we can all contribute towards the dialogue to establish peace in the Ukraine.
·
Stellenbosch University choir wins 3x gold in Sochi (p 2)
·
Russian – Ukrainian dialogues
·
Russian and Ukrainian film makers (P 3)
·
Russian and Ukrainian poets / Artists
·
Russian and Ukrainian (classical) composers (P 5)
·
Handbook on Ukrainian Poetry and Literature (till
1992) (P 7)
·
Poetic reflections on Ukraine by Jos Koetsier (P 8)
-
Touching a Lifesaving Archetypical Raft
-
Worthy Words
Gifts
Version of Monday 15 August
2016, 12:36PM
Here is the special file that I promised
to email to you! I have listed the poets in my presentation and a few other
artists whom I could not give credit due to the time restrictions and to avoid
overload.
To respect the copyright issues I have
not reproduced any of the poetry besides my own. A lot is available for
‘consultation’ on the internet though. I have added where possible the
available links.
I respectfully ask you to consider the
copyright of the poets and their translators.
The file lists names and areas of Art
from the Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
I hope that by sharing these rich gifts
of literature. Please share with others to contribute to a dialogue and the establishment
of peace in the Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
Jos Koetsier
Somerset West, Wednesday 15 August 2016
(Independence Day of India)
Follow the links towards enrichment
Stellenbosch
University choir wins 3x gold in Sochi in the Russian Federation
Stellenbosch
university choir wins gold in Russia
Russian Ukrainian
dialogues
Ukraine crisis: Russian and Ukrainian
cultural figures respond, 3 March 2014
JULY
15, 2016, A Prayer for Peace in Ukraine, By Halyna Mokrushyna
Russian and
Ukrainian film makers
On YouTube you will find trailers and
sometimes the complete films of the film makers quoted below.
Sergej Paradjanov (1924-1990) - Georgia,
Armenia, Ukraine
Oleg
Sentsov (1976 - ) Ukraine-Crimea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YdCFUzOkIY (Film: Gaamer,
2011)
Alexander Sokurov (1951- ) -
USSR/Russian Federation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_(film) (film
Alexandra, 2007)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fM4dIpulP8 (trailer
Alexandra), plays in a Russian Army camp and deals with issues of masculinity
and feminity and humanity beyond politics).
Andrej Tarkovski
(1932-1986) USSR
Films:
The Mirror (with poetry of Tarkovsky’s father ‘Arseny
Tarkovsky) (1975)
Nostalgia (1983)
Andrej Zvyagintsev (1964- ) - USSR
/Russian Federation
Russian and
Ukrainian Poets / Artists
Paul Celan
(1920-1970) Ukraine – Czernowitz/ Paris
Anastasia Dmitruk (1991- ) Ukraine-Kiev
‘Never
will we be brothers’ (2014)
Her
song ‘Never will we be brothers’ (2014) became a famous lyric and was also put
on music by a pop-group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_sTAhZv_rI (reading by
Anastasia Dmitruk and the Music with a group of Musician from Klaipėda
in Lithuania)
Hryhory Chubai (1949 - 1982) Ukraine,
Kiev
Коли
до губ твоїх лишається півподиху,
When
I am half a breath from you,
Ivan Franco
(1857-1916) Ukraine-Lviv
Language
Cultures of Odessa:
Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova (Jamala)
(1983- ), Ukraine – Osh Kirghiz SSR, USSR – Crimea
Singer
and poet
Winning
song 1944 (2016) Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Stockholm
Boris Khersonskiy
(1950 - ) Ukraine – Odessa
Evening of Ukrainian poetry - Boris
Khersonskiy (English introduction, readings in Russian)
Published
on Oct 26, 2014
Boris Khersonsky reads from his book
"Mass in the time of war": The first ever machines were invented for
wars...; To live. To let the clocks and seasons...; And then again, the
chill...; The Sun of History’s rising...; Lamb of God.
Борис Херсонский читает из своей книги
"Месса во время войны": Первыми механизмами были машины войны...;
Жить. Не сверять часов и календарных дат...; Опять же холода, окраины зимы...;
Восходит Солнце Истории...; Агнец Божий.
Boris Khersonskiy: a poet. Born in
Chernovtsy (Ukraine), he now lives in Odessa (Ukraine). Graduated from Odessa
Medical Institute with a psychologist degree. Head of Department of clinical
psychology in Odessa National University, the author of monographs in
psychology and psychiatry. Literary publications in a number of journals,
twelve books of poetry (nine published in Odessa, three in Moscow) and two
books of poetical transcriptions of Psalms. Laureate of Brodsky's fund grant
(2008), Literaris book prize (for Family archive collection of poems, 2010),
short-listed for Andrey Bely award (2007).
Poems Boris
Khersonskiy:
Chernovitz
Prayer (1) (2) and (3)
Ekuriany 1923; Tashkent 1944
Taras Shevchenko
(1814-1861) – Ukraine-Kaniv-Odenburg (exile)
Leonid Tishkov,
artist (1953- ) Russia – Moscow, quoting John Lennon
Ukrainian poets
Source
files on lyrikline (German site)
1102 Poets from many countries including
Ukraine in alphabetical order. The poems are not always available in English
translation. Besides English versions there are translation in German, French,
Spanish, Slovenian and Russian.
There are sound-files attached which
produce the poem in the original language.
Russian and Ukrainian (classical) composers
Edison Denisov (1929-1996) (USSR – Tomsk
Siberia/ Russian Federation - Paris)
Le
soleil des Incas (1964)
Sofia Gubaidulina (1931- ) (USSR/Russian
Federation/Germany)
One
of the core composers who worked with all other composers mentioned in this
chapter, in particular with Denisov, Schnittke and Silvestrov.
Most
of her works are on YouTube
Stimmen
Verstummen (1986)
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)
(USSR/Russian Federation/Germany)
Listen
in particular to his Nagasaki Symphony (1958)
For
the music of this symphony:
It
has been performed several times in Cape Town with the Cape Philharmonic
Orchestra who recorded the work on the Swedish Label BIS, for sale at the
secretariat of the orchestra at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town.
Dmitri Shostakovitch (1906-1975) (USSR –
Leningrad-Repino-Moscow)
Listen
to the Babiy Yar symphony. The text of the Russian Poet and Film maker Yevgeny
Yevtushenko refers to the holocaust, in particular in the Ukraine
Shostakovich,
Symphony 13: Babiy Yar (1962).
Complete
13th symphony is on:
Valentin Silvestrov (1937- ) (USSR –
Ukraine-Kiev)
Silent
Songs, based on poems of among other Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), Mikhael
Lermontov (1814-1841) and Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861):
Details
of Silent Songs on each track of the recording:
Handbook
on Ukrainian Poetry and Literature (till 1992)
uvan.org/wp.../Annals-of-UVAN-1997-History-of-Ukr-Lit_1-of-2.pdf
A history of Ukrainian literature, from the 11th to the end of the. 19th century / with an overview of
the twentieth century. Dmytro Čyževs'kyj ; translated by Dolly Ferguson,.
Doreen Gorsline, and Ulana ...
Part
1 and 2
http://uvan.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Annals-of-UVAN-1997-History-of-Ukr-Lit_1-of-2.pdf (417 pages)
http://uvan.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Annals-of-UVAN-1997-History-of-Ukr-Lit_2-of-2.pdf (417 pages)
Poetic reflections on Ukraine by Jos Koetsier
Please mention source when quoted
Poems
Touching a Lifesaving Archetypical Raft
Christos
Voskrese [1].
Christ is risen.
In
the dim light of a fading candle I see Your precious face.
The
Basilica is filled with your presence.
My
brush strokes recreate you on walls and tablets, iconic, beyond my ability to
depict You.
I
touch Your head.
A
throbbing pain enters my veins.
Deep
bass voices arise in veneration of your everlasting presence.
Chrysostom’s
[2]
Hymn dedicated by the Patriarch of Old Lore.
Amidst
raging winter storms I write the sacred words that connect us.
But
alas, Russian and Ukrainians clash and fight till all humanity is drained.
Missiles
are launched and 298 people die.
Am
I the magician who may restore their lives?
In
the depth of my heart I search for the power to fulfil my mission.
I
surrender on the floor of the half destroyed church.
The
snow slowly descends on the remnants of the altar.
Who
are Thou, driver of my inner healer?
The
sun rises on snow clad landscapes.
I
enter a farm and rest among the cows.
Their
graceful eyes meet mine and as they breathe wafts of cold the air fill the
stable.
The
seasons change and the fields are adorned with yellow flowers.
I
hear you sing and dance.
You
break the dark spells.
In
the waving corn the birds are the thinkers.
A
red fox and her young, nobody chases them.
The
river is as a bloodstream that powers my brain.
I
watch till night falls.
The
stars accompany me to a bed of straw.
Night
is my pillow and the Lord is my Sheppard on the path I have not yet discovered.
I
eat Kasha [3]
and your homemade Vodka lubricates my brain till everything is transparent and
smooth.
Worthy Words
Dedicated to Anastasia Dmitruk (1991- ), Kiev,
Ukraine
Reflections on her poem ‘Never will we be brothers’
(2014)
‘Never will we
be brothers’
It’s a curious
wanting thing to say
A strongly
worded gesture in a worldwide play
Where
monstrosities take hold
And more and
more weapons are sold
Where are the
bridges to the other side?
To those who
lose their lives for a similar plight
Who want no more
ammunition for the war machine?
And no more
soldiers on the battle scene?
There is life
beyond the dictatorship’s divide
Vibrant with all
her poetic might
Where oppressors
are expelled from heart and mind
Where one
practices humanness and tries to be kind
No longer
serving the breeding ground of hatred and pain
No longer acting as the Creator of new shackles and disdain
Armour without
guns
Words that stun
Deception’s
course
Reveal its inner
source
Lay bare
Ego’s snare
His fatal flaws
of mixed pursuits
Disguised in mixtures of bad and good
I reach out with
resolve
With violence gone
as driving force
Stellenbosch 26
August 2015 Somerset West 29 August 2015
[2] John Chrystostom ( (347-407),
Archbishop of Constantinople, venerated in Western and Orthodox Eastern
Christian Traditions (see www.orthodoxwiki.org/John_Chrystom )
[3] Buckwheat, staple food in Russia
and the Ukraine
