Evening: Poetry of Anna Akhmatova

Evening is Akhmatova's first book. This collection includes some beautifully crafted poems that brought her critical acclaim. Through the art of simplicity, she managed to convey many aspects of our complex behavior.A nice translation by Andrey Kneller. This is the second time I read his work and I'm very much pleased with what I found.

It's hard for me to rate poetry collections as I usually find them uneven (perhaps I'm not a good enough poetry reader). But there are several poems here I've returned to a couple of times and read out loud to no one, and I might have found one to stand among my very favourites ("Grey-Eyed King").I've read several versions of some of the poems and I've decided that in the future I will only read the translations by Andrey Kneller.

Good, but not great. Anna Akhmatova was young when she wrote these poems and I think that shows. Excellent translation.

I am Russian and I am a great fan of Anna Akhmatova. My partner is an English speaker and I tried to find a good translation, bought a few books, but all failed. I was delighted to find Andrey Kneller site and read a few translations. They represent very well the rhythm of the language and Akhmatova's poetry, which is rare. It is especially difficult in English, as the language structure, sound and intonations are so different from Russian.

Russian poetry is a wonder in itself! I am so glad to find an author who can so masterfully translate the beauty of Anna Akhmatova's poetry into English! Now English-speaking people can enjoy it!

A wonderful little book. Very accessible for a non poetry reader like me.The poems are brief, direct and simple, with none of the highfalutin references and allusions that can disfigure poetry (in my view at least, simpleton that I am). The themes of the poems are eternal - love, loss, yearning, nature, friendsI found it poignant that this book was written by a young Russian on the eve of the First World War, totally oblivious to the horrors to follow - war, revolution, the great terror, war and famine again. And yet these vignettes of a lost world still resonate today.I am glad I strayed out of my comfort zone and took a (small) risk on this book.

I am delighted to have found this collection of Akhmatova,s poems. I cannot think of a better introduction to Russian poetry and to the subtlety and beauty of Akhmatova,s verse. Both are so well conveyed in Andrey Kneller,s excellent translation. A must for any student of Russian and of the art of the translator. Highly, highly recommended.