Selected Poems gathers a choice of Pasternak's verse in English translation, drawn from across his career. It includes poems from his early, energetic collections, where rain, storms, gardens and the seasons are seen with startling freshness, as well as quieter later work. Many editions also include poems attributed to Yuri Zhivago from the end of his novel. The poems are about love, nature, art and faith, and about the poet's place in a changing Russia. The collection offers a good first introduction to one of the most admired Russian lyric poets of the twentieth century.
Quotes
Like a beast in a pen, I’m cut off From my friends, freedom, the Sun. But the hunters are gaining ground; I’ve nowhere else to run.
Am I a gangster or a murderer? Of what crime do I stand Condemned? I made the whole world weep At the beauty of my land.
Even so, one step from my grave, I believe that cruelty, spite, The powers of darkness will in time Be crushed by the spirit of light.