Poetry and Enigma of Mike Johansen
Why not start Monday with poetry? I’ve selected my favorite poetry by Mike Johansen (1895-1937), a Ukrainian poet of the 1920s. Johansen described himself as an enigma–half-Ukrainian, half-Latvian German, fluent in dozens of languages and yet making Ukrainian the medium of his prose and poetry. Johansen represents the avant-garde movement of the 1920s and he was one of the brightest stars of the same group that included people like Vladimir Mayakovsky, Velimir Khlebnikov and Mykola Khvylovyi. What distinguishes his work for me is his playfulness and humor.
Although he was a gifted translator at ease with Latin, English, German, and a number of Scandinavian and Slavic languages, his poetry is impossible to translate. It relies so much on the sound of Ukrainian that in another language it becomes something else altogether. Yet, even without understanding the language, the poem is hypnotic.
Lizette in Recommend Me a Perfume : April 2025: I recommend these two: Bvlgari Au the Vert for a soft green, floral, creamy, elegant and understated scent. Hermes Eau des Merveilles Bleue for an aquatic, woodsy, yet soft fragrance. April 19, 2025 at 12:23pm