Translated from Russian by Lana Gogoberidze

The translator, a well-known film director and writer, says in her introduction: "I fully agree with Pasternak who said that the translation should be a historic outcome of the original. I find the words very true because I always translate only those poets who have touched me in one way or another, have somehow influenced my life. Tsvetaeva, Pasternak, Akhmatova, Akhmadulina and Brodsky are the poets who impressed me in my young days, affected me at various times, agitated and stunned me, ultimately settling in me forever."