Experiences of enlightenment. On Anna Markina’s Lightening Up [Osvetlenie]

Abstract

The review by the literary critic S. Batalov concerns the poet and essay writer Anna Markina’s new book of poetry. The collection, entitled Lightening Up [Osvetlenie] (2021), consists of five chapters — according to the blurb, each corresponds to one of the book’s central themes: ‘Cracks’ [‘Treshchiny’] is about loneliness; ‘In place of the sun’ [‘Vmesto solntsa’] — about love; ‘Along the perch’ [‘Po zherdochke’] — about the native country; and ‘Music’ [‘Muzyka’] — about creative work. The theme of loneliness constitutes the book’s leitmotif. However, Batalov points out that, by the end of the book, it is nearly overcome, or at least ‘lightened up’ by the peaceful tone of the lyrical heroine. Like the collection itself, each of the chapters has its inner dramatics: the first poem will be partially developed and partially disproved by the last one, meaning that, together with the poet, we are progressing from darkness to light. The critic not only analyses the book’s plot and motifs but also cites other critical responses to Markina’s oeuvre and considers the key elements of her poetic world, such as childhood, home, and music, among others.