“The Selected Lyric Poety of Maksym Rylsky,” by Maksym Rylsky, translated by Michael M. Naydan. London: Glagoslav Publications, 2017. 168 pp. ISBN: 978-1-911414-41-4 (paperback), $21.45.
“The Selected Lyric Poetry of Maksym Rylsky” includes poetry from virtually all of Rylsky’s early collections of poetry with selections primarily based on esthetic principles. Also included are the powerful poem “Thirst,” penned during Ukraine’s darkest days of World War II, and other poems from various periods of his life.
Rylsky (1895-1964) was one of the most outstanding Ukrainian poets of the 20th century. He was a master of the modern sonnet and the long narrative poem and was closely associated with the Neoclassicist group of Ukrainian poets. His poetry employed traditional poetic forms with rhyme and meter, clear and accessible contemporary idiom and often references Ancient Greek and Roman mythology as well as numerous authors from world literature. Rylsky was a prolific translator from English, French, German and Polish as well as a folklore and literary scholar. He worked as a teacher of philology for most of his early life.
The translator, Michael M. Naydan, is a Woskob Family Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at Pennsylvania State University.