Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
In December Alexander Grich, a popular Baku poet, translator, publicist and screenwriter, marks his 70th birthday. On the one hand, everything that has been written and will be written by Alexander Grich is written in Russian; so he could be called a Russian poet. On the other hand, most of his works are connected with Azerbaijan, its literature and culture. And I wanted to call him “an Azerbaijani poet” at first. But today Alexander Grich is living and working in the USA, and he could be called a Russian-speaking American…
But I think “a Baku poet” is the appropriate definition. In the words of the poet himself:
Let me tell you
There is no such nation as Baku,
But I’m sure there are such people.
Our city brought us together,
Like Paris and Odessa did.
I’m always glad to meet a townsman
Far away from home.
And everybody has the feeling…
…It is easy to live and nice to make mistakes here…
What is the essence of the all-city brotherhood?
What is the recipe of the city’s fluid?
Your love, my city, is bitter pills,
And your almost universal kinship
Is a craft…
The metaphorical system of poetry of Alexander Grich is built on Baku reality, Baku scenery, a Baku outlook. It can be noted even in early poems. His old poem from the first book of poems “The Old Pier”, which has never been republished, is magnificent:
You are always right.
You are above logic,
Like the grass
On the arid land near derricks.
Like the sun on a shoulder,
Like a thrown net…
Like everything which is not for a reason,
But simply exists in the world.
Alexander Grich appeared in literature in the early 1960s. Soon, he became one of the brightest Russian-speaking Baku poets. There were other talented and very talented poets. There were such poets. For example, Grich’s teacher – Vladimir Portnov. But still it is poetry by Alexander Grich that brings the breath of the Baku people, the charm of the Baku streets, and the specific dialect which enables one to detect a Baku resident in any part of the planet. His best poems, even the most personal ones which were written after his first wife’s death, contain the genetic code of the city – notions, values, principles which were the basis of relations inside the family, between neighbors, friends and strangers. It is well known that a genetic code is permanent. It unites the past and the future; it determines a character of the city and the fate of its residents.
We all lived in a common heaven,
I.e. in a common district.
Everything was common – raisvet, raissbyt,
And of course raikom.
One could step outside, whistle
And in a minute his neighbor is on the porch…
We all lived in a common heaven
And didn’t know about it.
Recently I found out that in “heaven” Alexander Grich was a student of the Azerbaijani Institute for Oil and Chemistry, an active participant of the popular Baku KVN team, a promising poet and translator, as well as the champion of the republic in boat racing. It happened in a Baku which became the main character of Alexander Grich’s poetry.
Many years on the author returned to Baku and saw that all the talk that “Baku is different”, “the old Baku has died” were nonsense. Baku is the same, as the genetic code of the city cannot be changed. People smile on the streets, they offer help, even though I don’t ask them for it.
I remembered a poem by Alexander Grich, which was written in the 1980s:
Come on! This is not me,
Sitting on a bench wet with dew,
Hiding my excitement,
Puzzled and unsociable…
What should the prodigal son think,
Returning home?
Probably: “My city,
I’ve returned home to you,
And I will return again from travels,
You are mine… Whether you are big or small,
But I have never forgotten about you,
We are clearly connected in the space…”
I should admit that I read books of poems by Alexander Grich warily: there were many poems which were thought to be wonderful; years later they lost their acuteness, faded away, turned into Gumilyev’s “dead words.” But I was surprised that most of the poems by Grich sounded fresh, attracting the reader with the magic of his unique poetic intonation, internal wisdom which helps to find yourself and your place in the world. I cannot forget the strict, brutal lyrics of the book titled “So It Goes” which was published in 1981, when his wife died.
Only there where a disaster is inevitable
I whispered to her, I spelled the word “love. ”
I did it desperately and tenderly.
Only there. What can I do? There!
Grich doesn’t write much about love, but his love poetry is unforgettable, whether these are old or new poems – “A Trip to the Sea” or “Later.” How can be “I Know You…” forgotten with its unexpected end? There are other poems which are perfect for an internal talk with yourself. For instance:
Hide the guitar, don’t touch a pen –
I knew it, it is familiar to me.
Sit down and look at fire,
When everybody’s sleeping at home.
You cannot conquer yourself,
But there is no fear along fire.
It will live longer than the fireplace,
The night and the strange city…
At the same time it is impossible to forget that, due to Alexander Grich, Russian-speaking readers could assess works by prominent Azerbaijani poets – Rasul Rza, Fikret Godja, Hussein Javid, Suleiman Rustam, and so on. Grich began as a translator. But he translated not from Azerbaijani, but from English. His first publications were translation of poems by Robert Burns “My Heart Is in the Highlands” and Percy Bysshe Shelley “To Night.” English poetics and English tunes were evident in original poems by the poet later. But it was Grich’s fate to become a translator from Azerbaijani. According to critics, his translations of Rasul Rza and Fikret Godja were the best, reflecting the whole poetic power of poets who were living classics. A secret of these translations is that Grich is a talented poet and knows the Azerbaijani language better than many other translators.
Alexander Grich is one of the most prominent scholars of classic and modern Azerbaijani literature. He has an inextricable connection with Azerbaijan and is a true patriot of his country. He published many articles on problems of translation and modern Azerbaijani literature. For 12 years he was an anchor of a TV-show called “Bayaty” which was devoted to Azerbaijani literature.
Alexander Grich is certainly a patriot of Azerbaijan, even though he moved to the USA, where he has been working actively as a journalist in newspapers, on radio and television. When Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev visited the USA for the first time, he intended to meet Grich. After that Grich returned to Baku and shot a documentary “An Unofficial Portrait of the President” in 1998. Heydar Aliyev could find many decisive journalists in Azerbaijan to tell about the past and the future of Azerbaijan, but he decided that Alexander Grich should shoot the film.
The poet, who marks his 70th birthday, has a lot of achievements to be proud of, but only to feel that his whole life is before him. According to the Talmud, 70 years is the age at which a person is respected for his deeds in life. But today it is the age of stepping to a new stage of creative activity, an age of new creative achievements and discoveries.
And I wish Alexander Romanivich Grich this and good health.
