Another fresh look at a classic from school lessons is Shevchenko’s poem “Katerina”, published in English by the publishing house “Osnovy”. The poem is full of tragedy and stinging, to tears, pain – a girl, falling in love with an officer and getting pregnant from him, becomes an exile, even in his home. She has no choice but to go in search of a missing lover, but “make love with a black eyebrow, but not with the Muscovites.” Translated into English by John Weir, and he was able to perfectly convey the rhythm and melody of Shevchenko’s poem.
Illustrations for the book were made by Nikolai Tolmachev, a graduate of the Paris National Higher School of Fine Arts (ENSBA). His figurative, fragile, in muted tones illustrations well reproduce the anxiety of the work and the premonition of imminent tragedy. A large-format edition made of high-quality paper will be a good gift for foreign guests – or a decoration of the home library.
