Do Not Let Your Soul Grow Lazy

44 min.

Poetry

Language Russian

Author Nikolai Zabolotsky

Narrator Alexander Kotov

Description

The Silver Age gave the world a constellation of astonishing poets. Akhmatova, Mandelstam, Tsvetaeva, Gumilyov, Blok… Either those were such unusual times, or the universe paused for a moment—and the theory of probabilities missed this incredible coincidence. But in any case, the early twentieth century is the time of a fireworks display, a festive salute in the world of Russian poetry. Stars flared up and went out, leaving behind poems—famous and not so famous.

One of the most underrated authors of that era is the poet N. Zabolotsky. Everyone knows Akhmatova is a genius, but not everyone can quote her poems. The same goes for Blok or Tsvetaeva. Yet Zabolotsky’s work is known to almost everyone—and many people don’t even realize it’s Zabolotsky. “Sealed, bewitched, with the wind out in the field…”, “The soul must work…”, and even “Kotya, kotenka, kotok…”

All of this is Nikolai Alekseevich Zabolotsky. The poems belong to his pen. They went into the people, became songs and children’s lullabies; the author’s name turned into an unnecessary formality. On the one hand—this is the most sincere declaration of love among all possible. On the other—an outrageous injustice toward the author.