Holy Winter 20/21

Maria Stepanova's book-length poem Holy Winter 20/21 is a polyphonic evocation of winter and war, banishment and exile, social isolation and existential abandonment. It was written in a frenzy of poetic inspiration and interweaves love letters and travelogues, Chinese verse and Danish fairy tales into a evocation of frozen and slowly thawing time. Stepanova was a highly influential figure in Moscows cosmopolitan literary scene until its suppression under Putins reign of terror. Her poetry echoes verses by Pushkin and Lermontov, Mandelstam and Tsvetaeva, and she has mastered modern poetry's rich repertoire of forms. She also searches for the essence of the moment in the maelstrom of historical time and traces the reactions of her critical consciousness, forming a chronicle of the troubled present.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 64 pages
Publication date: 21 March 2024
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd

The outbreak of Covid-19 abruptly ended Maria Stepanovas time in Cambridge. She retreated into a state of lethargy in Russia, feeling as if the world had abandoned her and time had lost its meaning. However, her journey began to change when she delved into the works of Ovid, allowing the shock of the pandemic to fade into the voices and metaphors of an epic experience. Fueled by a surge of poetic inspiration, Stepanova crafted a book-length poem titled Holy Winter 20/21, which explores themes of winter, war, exile, social isolation, and existential abandonment. Through her intricate weaving of love letters, travelogues, Chinese verse, and Danish fairy tales, she evokes a polyphonic portrayal of frozen and gradually thawing time.

Following her previous book of poetry, War of the Beasts and the Animals, which was partially a response to the Donbas conflict, her book's title takes on an even more prophetic significance, resonating with a famous patriotic Soviet song from 1941, "A holy war is underway." Maria Stepanova, born in 1972, was a prominent figure in Moscows cosmopolitan literary scene for many years until it was suppressed alongside civil liberties and dissent under Putin's reign of terror. Her debut prose work, In Memory of Memory, solidified her international reputation as one of the most significant intellectual voices of contemporary Russia.

Her poetry, influenced by the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Mandelstam, and Tsvetaeva, exhibits a non-hermetic nature. She actively absorbs the confusing signals from social networks and the media, opening herself up to the voices of kindred poets such as Sylvia Plath, Inger Christensen, and Anne Carson. Furthermore, Stepanova has mastered the diverse forms and movements within modern poetry, effortlessly navigating between the linguistic and traditional spaces of Russian, European, and transcultural influences.

Weight: 118g
Dimension: 232 x 156 x 7 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781780376950