Rhythm and Free Verse Across the Slavic Belt

Selected by translator Dasha C. Nisula, this unique volume traces the development of modern free verse that extends from Croatia on the Adriatic to Russia in the East. Included are early pieces from the West to East Slavic belt, with the majority of the works focusing on the Russian Whitmanist Vladimir Burich, and the contemporary master of free verse in Russia, Vyacheslav Kupriyanov. A volume that captures feeling, essence, rhythm, and depth through superb translations.

The poetry of Vladimir Burich is minimalist, precise and aphoristic, often with both social and philosophical overtones. Kupriyanov is a freelance writer, a member of the Moscow Writers Union, and a member of the Serbian Writers Union who has published six books and been translated into eight languages. Dasha C. Nisula is a translator of poetry and short stories from these languages, and the author of four books – including Music Is Everything by Slavko Mihalic and You With Hands More Innocent by Vesna Parun with Exile Editions – numerous articles, reviews, and translations. Her work has appeared in An Anthology of South Slavic Literatures, and the literary journals Modern Poetry in Translation, Southwestern Review, International Poetry Review, and Massachusetts Review, among others. She is a member of the American Literary Translators Association.