'Хочу я света и покоя... '

Imi͡a Varlama Shalamova izvestno chitateli͡am, prezhde vsego, blagodari͡a "Kolymskim rasskazam". Shalamovskai͡a proza, besposhchadnoe i tochnoe svidetelʹstvo o GULAGe, zanimaet odnu iz samykh znachimykh stranit͡s v istorii russkoĭ literatury KhKh veka. Mezhdu tem, sam Shalamov schital sebi͡a bolee poėtom, chem prozaikom. Ostavai͡asʹ v teni lagernykh rasskazov, poėticheskie proizvedenii͡a Shalamova sostavli͡ai͡ut vesomui͡u chastʹ ego tvorcheskogo nasledii͡a. Po priznanii͡u avtora, poėzii͡a byla dli͡a nego "spasitelʹnym oberegom" i istochnikom sily v beschelovechnykh uslovii͡akh lagernoĭ zhizni, ego "putevodnoĭ zvezdoĭ". Pogruzhai͡asʹ v mirovui͡u kulʹturu i istorii͡u, obrashchai͡a vzgli͡ad k prirode, Shalamov pishet svoĭ "liricheskiĭ dnevnik", stikhi, kotorye odnovremenno "i͡asny i nepostizhimy". V nastoi͡ashchee izdanie voshli poėticheskie proizvedenii͡a, sostavivshie t͡sikl "Kolymskie tetradi" (1949-1953), sozdannye na Dalʹnem Severe, a takzhe izbrannye stikhotvorenii͡a, napisannye v raznye gody posle vozvrashchenii͡a iz lageri͡a.

The name of Varlam Shalamov is known to readers, first of all, thanks to the "Kolyma stories". Shalamov's prose, a ruthless and accurate testimony of the Gulag, occupies one of the most significant pages in the history of twentieth-century Russian literature. Meanwhile, Shalamov himself considered himself more of a poet than a prose writer. Remaining in the shadow of the camp stories, Shalamov's poetic works form a significant part of his creative legacy. According to the author, poetry was for him a "saving charm" and a source of strength in the inhumane conditions of camp life, his "guiding star". Immersing himself in world culture and history, turning his gaze to nature, Shalamov writes his "lyrical diary", poems that are both "clear and incomprehensible." This edition includes the poetic works that made up the Kolyma Notebooks cycle (1949-1953), created in the Far North, as well as selected poems written in different years after returning from the camp.