Six lyrics from the Ruthenian of Taras Shevchenko, also The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov from the Russian of Mikhaíl Lermontov

Poetry by two radical poets, born in the same year, who suffered exile and punishment under the Tsarist Russian empire. Taras Shevchenko is celebrated as the founder of Ukrainian literature (writing in the Ruthenian dialect), while Lermontov wrote in Russian. Both died young, Lermontov in a duel and Shevchenko as a result of his sufferings in exile. This collection includes Ethel Voynich's moving biography of Taras Shevchenko and translations of six short lyrics written over the course of his life, as well as her translation of Lermontov's narrative poem, The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov. - Summary by Phil Benson