On Solid Ground: Poems

Pyotr Nikolayevich Mamonov is one of the brightest figures of contemporary Russian culture. An actor, musician, director, radio host—he created wonderful images in film and theater. He appeared in more than 20 films. He staged around 15 musical performances in which he played the leading roles. Nearly 300 of his original broadcasts «Golden Shelf» aired on the radio station «Echo of Moscow». More than 20 musical discs by the rock band «Zvuki Mu» have been released.

But the most important thing in his life were poems. «I’m not so much a musician as a poet by nature—how I feel. I’ve been writing verses for a long time, and in general I have this poetic approach to reality,» he says about himself. He treated poetry with reverence and seriousness, but he did not allow it to be published. And only when he turned 70 did he hand all his manuscripts to his wife and say, «Here. Publish it.»

This book is the first publication of Pyotr Mamonov’s poems.