About the author

   How are poems born? There are a lot of sources of inspiration, such as: the reflection of light and fleeting mood; the episodes of own life or the result of experience. Contemplating life and the essence of natural phenomena and also asking “the eternal questions”, everyone is becoming a philosopher or a poet. Possibly, not everyone is able to put his reflection into material form, i.e. to express it on paper (as poems, prose, drama) or by means of notes, artist’s color, clay, etc. Moreover, many people having done it, don’t dare to present their creation to the world. And it can be explained, because a man as if lays his soul bare, revealing his defenseless inner world to everyone.

   There are no casual and formal phrases, verbal artful designs and forced images in Alexander Plotnikov’s poems. On the contrary, there is natural beauty of life brought out by the common human vision, but spiritualized by the author’s original inner world. Originality and the unique perception of the world around that is inherent to talent only get to the reader’s soul and keep it in expectation of poetic findings.

   The most important part of the author’s creativity is the divine theme, in other words, a religious vision of life. From the religious point of view, the author addresses his own human essence. He is reflecting not only on key aspects of life and daily reality, but also on himself as a part of God’s creation. The author continues Russian poetic tradition. He raises such eternal themes as: man’s friendship, love to the native land and pets. Moreover, he proved himself as a true judge of these eternal values.

   In the author’s poetic space we can see pure lyricism and light irony concerning not only average men’s lives, but also his own.

   The poet’s style has its own tone and colour. He believes in predetermination. His poetry is a combination of nature’s harmony and the eternal conflict lying in the human soul.

   It’s worth noting the translation of the world famous classic poets: Edgar Poe, Byron, Goethe, Heine, Schiller and others.

   Alexander Plotnikov was able to feel and convey the originality of each poet’s language, its refinement and lucidity of the author’s intention. He also managed to preserve the peculiarities of expressive means and stylistic devices of the translated texts – vivid epithets, rhythm and rhyme, syntactic devices, which enabled him to keep intact the subtlety of the original.

   Here are opinions of Alexander Plotnikov’s poetic translations expressed by Novosibirsk translators, teachers of foreign languages:

    “The author astonished me not only by his poetic daring, but also by his regard for the original text, its linguistic peculiarities as well as its message (those who know English will be able to judge for themselves when reading translation’s of Edgar Poe’s poems). In A. Plotnikov’s translations classic poetry doesn’t dissolve in the personality of a modern author: naturally, it doesn’t sound the way it did in the times of Byron and Poe (and it can’t be otherwise), but it always preserves its innermost core which makes it classic and everlasting. I’d like to thank the author again for fruitful cooperation and wish him new poetic achievements” Tarabakina A.K. – teacher of the English and German languages, the Novosibirsk State Technical University.

    “You are holding a book by Alexander Plotnikov, a poet and translator by vocation. It is not daring, but an urge to approach the original, the joy of creativity and regard for poetic word that predetermine the author’s choice of texts for translation and reveal themselves in the lines of his poems. The heritage of German poets is born anew on the pages of the book. Minimum of poetic licence and careful preservation of the original’s language and message enable A. Plotnikov to challenge other numerous talented translations. Making no pretensions to surpassing the universally recognized translation samples, the author offers his own version of the original text, which conveys precisely the poetic imagery of Goethe, Schiller, Heine” Mironenko G.I. – teacher of the German language, the Siberian Academy for Public Administration.

   We can’t but mention such poems as “Mother Swan’s Song”, “Rain and Life”, “A Night Talk” and especially “Mother’s Tears”. The theme of love to one’s Mother is central to Alexander Plotnikov’s poetry. Filial affection and gratitude, the burden of guilt and the gift of repentance make up the everlasting core of the author’s poems. The lines dedicated to Mother are the poet’s conscience, his declaration of love achieved through suffering, but – inevitably too late.

   The poems by A. Plotnikov reflect everything he felt, suffered and experienced. The author’s poetic world is characterized by openness, sincerity, subtle humour and a variety of lyrical tones conveying the finest shades of the poet’s feelings and moods.

   In conclusion, I’d like to quote the opinion of a well-known Novosibirsk writer Mikhail Tschukin about A. Plotnikov’s poem: “Reading his poetry you have a feeling of climbing a mountain. Once you raise your head, you see the summit and, fascinated, strive to reach it. Then you overcome the first slope, the second and the world opens wide in front of you, the horizon is infinite and the summit is still above you…It means you must go on and climb higher.

   This feeling of striving for heights is what I appreciate most in Alexander Plotnikov’s poems.

         Stasova Elena, philologist