Sonnets of Sun, Honey, & Moon: A Song of Worlds: K. D. Balmont's Finest Book in a Verse Interview

Here I “interview” a poet I’ve been reading and researching for decades. K. D. Balmont, a guiding light and major force in the Russian Symbolist movement, offered an encyclopedic view of his intercultural, nature-mystical development in a climactic book of 255 lyrical treasures: "Sonnets of Sun, Honey, and Moon: A Song of Worlds" (1917). I’ve translated these verbal artworks into English ones by keeping his intricate patterns of subtle, firm rhythm and elegant rhyme.But—what may surprise you—I also offer 255 “reply” poems of my own in Balmontian form. In the total book—510 achievements of wordsong craft—you’ll hear my dialogue with a creator whose personality motivated endlessly new experiences of global travel and nature observations made with devoted precision, all embodied in lyrical beauty. It is the self-portrait of a spiritual master in dialogue with a younger poet who regards him as friend and mentor in thought and art. Read more