AustLit

'Poetry makes sense of life; it offers us truths; it brings us unimagined worlds; and it liberates our pain. In moments of great joy or sadness, it is poetry which says the impossible, ensuring that the poignancy and loveliness of our humanity never passes into nothingness.

'Great Art belongs to everyone; thus, it is crucial that we continue the dialogue between ourselves and the poems. It is in this dialogue that we witness the alchemy of poetry: the way it transmutes from a language form and feature to a universal elixir.

'What is the point of living if there is no Art? And poetry is the most concentrated of all Art. It is the oldest of all literary forms. Poetry offers ritual and cadence: sacrifice and secrets. It is audacious and disturbing but always - and this applies to all great poetry - yours. Mine. Ours.

'So, we read poetry to face the truth. To stand there and dig in, to stumble over words we don't get, to find a phrase that flicks a light on in our memory, to cat-paw over and over an image that was laid down long ago. Most of all, we read poetry to remind ourselves of what really matters: to witness the soaring light that tears up our small lives.'  (Publication summary)

'It is 1915 and what can save Russia? 

'In all its spectacular hypocrisy the Tsarist regime is leading the war effort - untrained soldiers are being sent out onto the battlefield without boots or rifles, and food and fuel shortages maim the nation at every turn. What can save Russia? Millions of refugees, deserters and prisoners of war criss-cross the vast continent in the hope of a different life, while the seedy underbelly of cabaret nightclubs proliferate to soak up the lost. What can save Russia? After joining the Entente Powers in 1914, Russia leaves behind the Belle Epoque, with its whimsy and bohemia, only to face the devastating losses and retreats in the Eastern Front, 1915.

'In the words of the great Russian novelist Dostoyevsky - only beauty can save the world. 

'Take Ink & Weep is a story of four remarkable Russian poets in their early twenties: Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Osip Mandelstam and Marina Tsvetaeva. Their lives, their love affairs and their poetry attempt to make sense of the mayhem of war, the rise of Bolshevism, the fall of the Romanovs and the powerful role that Art plays in assuaging the human spirit. These four poets are the darlings of their cities and their popularity attests to the beauty that is salvageable in the war-torn lives of Russia. From being the most lauded poets of their day Akhmatova, Pasternak, Mandelstam and Tsvetaeva would go on to become victims of Stalin's Red Terror but for now, this novel tells the story of one year in their lives.

'Take Ink & Weep is a poetic phrase from Boris Pasternak and speaks to the importance of giving witness, no matter the cost, to the great human dramas; from unrequited love to the carnage of war. ' (Publication summary)