Daniil CHKONIA: “Jerusalem fascinated me”

Daniil Chkonia was born in 1946 in Port Arthur into a family of military doctors. He grew up in Mariupol, lived in Tbilisi, and since 1975 - in Moscow. Since 1996 he has lived in Germany, in Cologne. Graduated from the Literary Institute named after. Gorky, since 1976 - member of the Writers' Union, now a member of the Moscow Writers' Union and the Russian PEN Center. Famous poet, prose writer, essayist, literary critic and translator of Georgian poetry and prose. Publications of recent years in the magazines “Znamya”, “Friendship of Peoples”, “New World”, “Interpoetry”, “Siberian Lights”, “Arion” and others. His poems have been translated into English, Polish, Hungarian, Georgian and other languages. Editor-in-chief of the journal of Russian literature “Foreign Notes” (2005-2009). Deputy editor-in-chief of the literary magazine "Emigrant Lyra".

Rachel Gedrich spoke with the poet Daniel Chkonia

“The first to come to us in Jerusalem was Daniil Solomonovich Chkonia.

By the way, at first we didn’t appoint anyone to chair the jury,

but Daniel just turned out to be them - by attention to what is happening,

on the relevance of all that and how he did and said ...

Finally, we felt that we were not alone and that the festival was really,

truly comes to life..."

Marina-Ariela Melamed, co-organizer of the poetry festival “Road to the Temple”

- Daniil Solomonovich! You were born in China, into a family of doctors. What is the most vivid impression of your childhood?

Yes, I was born in Port Arthur (now Lüshun), of course, this is China, but then Port Arthur was under the jurisdiction of the USSR. It is hard to believe, but I - although I was three years old when I left for the Union - I remember well the courtyard, the layout of the rooms ... I remember how they feed me by planting by the kitchen window, behind which is the back yard, and there the Chinese girl on the swing is swinging. I see her as it is now! And I promise a swing, if I eat well. And the next day, in the doorway, there is a swing, and I can't get off of them until late at night ...

— How did you decide to enter the Literary Institute?

He wrote poems from his school years, but was aimed at journalism, in which he soon became disillusioned - he soon faced the frank deceit of the profession in the Soviet system.

— Are there significant periods or names in Russian poetry that played an important role in your creative destiny?

If we talk about the period as a whole, then this is undoubtedly the Silver Age of Russian poetry. Outside a certain circle - this is Annensky, Khodasevich, Georgy Ivanov. Especially highlight the name of Osip Mandelstam. I do not call Pasternak, Tsvetaeva, Akhmatova - this is the "gentleman's set." When I worked as a senior editor at the Literary Consultation of the Writers' Union of the USSR, getting acquainted with another novice author, trying to understand what he was “breathing”, he put a condition on: call Yevtushenko, Voznesensky, Akhmadulin, Rozhdestvensky. What and who outside this circle gave an objective picture of his ideas about poetry ...

— In the USSR, you looked like a quite prosperous figure: a member of the Union of Writers, a consultant to the Board of the Union of Writers, a senior editor of the editorial office of the poetry of the peoples of the USSR of the publishing house “Soviet Writer”, and before leaving, a consultant to the apparatus of the State Duma Committee on Culture... What prompted your decision to emigrate to Germany?

Outward well-being was deceptive. Work in the apparatus, in the editorial edition, demanded a certain conformism, the main thing was, according to Schwartz, not to be the first student, but my colleagues and literary friends still recall how uncomfortable for the supervisor I was, what kind of “wars” I started with wardens when it came to elementary justice or not political, but an aesthetic assessment of the manuscript ... And, nevertheless, one must face the truth: conformism was our face. Therefore, I have special respect for the poets of the Moscow Time group Alexander Soprovsky, Sergey Gandlevsky, Bakhyt Kenzheev, Alexey Tsvetkov, Alexander Kazintsev - they did not give up their talent and their conscience! But some of our “Sixties”, having forgotten that they were order-bearers and rode around the world (I was not allowed to leave abroad), suddenly with the restructuring they began to pull the blanket over themselves, as if not Gorbachev flew to Reykjavik, and they agreed with Reagan ...

I deliberately left for Germany, having experienced powerful pressure from the “Memory” society and other “patriots”, because at the trial I was one of the main witnesses against Smirnov-Ostashvili. Threats to the family, children ... And also work in the Duma, when I saw this gathering of rogues, people from the same communist system, close to it ... Of course, not everyone is talking about it. And I am very surprised that in times when a person has the opportunity to remain free from the ruling post-communist power, people who dreamed of freedom support this power.

— During the years of living in Germany, did you have to deal with a similar problem?

I am shocked by the stubbornness with which our "patriots" assert, they say, neither democracy nor freedom in the West ... Go ahead, speak out, defend your views, give voice to the party, which, in your opinion, protects your interests.

WINTER IN COLOGNE

Now the wrong one went Teuton -

Unaccustomed to the snow-ice.

Raine rebelled! - moan is heard

Aboriginal people.

Come on the box to crush,

What came down like a fool ...

Snow. Timid. White third night

Lurking in a quiet alley.

I am happy with frost lung!

Why panic and cry?

Do not drift, snow, gray soul, brother!

And then all - slush, slush, slush

Not tai and not black, hold on!

What is the use of panic and crying!

Raine calm down and life

It will, at least somehow, but - otherwise!

— Your childhood and school years were spent in Mariupol. How do you feel when watching disturbing news?

I call fellow countrymen, classmates and hear lively voices and opinions, after which I want this to be heard in Russia: that all the lack of talent of the Kremlin authorities become understandable to people deprived of diverse information. They, these Russian "volunteers" no one called to Ukraine, except for provocateurs. Some number of people “pecked”, but for the most part, citizens of Ukraine did not think about the change of citizenship ...

In fairness, I will say that the Kiev authorities should already be cured of the children's disease of the new statehood and learn in a civilized way to guarantee the interests of the linguistic groups. And to protect Russian-speaking people in Mariupol — from whom? Who speaks Ukrainian there? Is that on the "surzhik." Everyone speaks Russian.

— Living in Cologne, you followed in the footsteps of Igor Huberman and Yuri Maletsky. Your excursion tours in the Benelux countries are legendary. What attracts you to this type of activity?

There is no dependence on colleagues. And as far as I know, Igor Mironovich worked in tandem with a guide, complementing his story with his own poems and impressions ...

Maletsky - a writer, art historian, connoisseur of confessional features of different branches of Christianity, a special figure. He lived in Augsburg, led amateur tours ... We became friends with Yura, I managed to drag him to Cologne, in a travel agency, with which I collaborated. What kind of figure is a tour guide writer, I tried to comprehend in my essay titled “Tour Guide, or Writer plays jazz” (by the way, the title of the essay became the title of my last book, it contains short prose and poems from different years).

— In exile, you continued to actively engage in literary work. You write, review, edit, participate in poetry festivals and competitions as a chairman or a member of the jury ...

This is true - it has been written to me in recent years. And the books are regularly published, and there are enough publications in Moscow magazines. And so it happened - they invited to the jury of international literary competitions ... For several years he was the chairman of the jury of the competition of young poets of the Russian abroad “Wind of wandering” in Rome.

In the winter of 2014, he became the chairman of the jury of the International Festival of Russian Poetry “The Road to the Temple” in Israel. For many years now I have been a member of the jury of the International Festival of Poetry “The Emigrant Lira”. And he was a participant of the festival of poetry in Kazan, the Russian-Georgian festival in Tbilisi and Batumi.

— What was the fate of the popular literary magazine “Foreign Notes” that you created?

At first everything was great - the issues were a success, and the publications of our authors made us finalists for the Russian Booker, Big Book, and Belkin Tale awards. And Boris Khazanov’s novel, published in our magazine, won the Russian Prize. And we - my co-editor Larisa Shchigol and me - for publishing the journal of Russian literature “Foreign Notes” were awarded a special diploma of the Russian Prize “For contribution to the development and preservation of the traditions of Russian culture outside the Russian Federation.”

But then, after 5 years of publishing, the publishing house “Partner” started publishing a children's magazine, financial problems led to the closure of our magazine. Then, after the 3-year recess, a new owner of the magazine appeared, who promised not to break the format of the thick magazine, its “conservatism” in a good sense, the liberal vector. The promise of the new owner violated, deliberately and prudently. Obviously, the new owner does not understand the structure of the thick magazine. It turned out that in other publications that belong to him, he, along with respected authors, publishes amateur writers for money and that he intends to introduce this practice in our journal ...

After that, having publicly explained myself to the authors and readers of the journal, I left his editorial board. For the time being, the new issues of the magazine are convincing: the former, successful, rating journal Foreign Notes has been turned into a mediocre publication that does not have its own face, its structure.

— Daniel Solomonovich, you are a poet, prose writer, literary critic, jury member of several famous poetry festivals - how do you assess the prospects for the development of modern Russian-language poetry?

In my opinion, Russian poetry is on the rise, despite the many complex and contradictory processes of literary life. There are talented names. There are interesting texts.

— Modern youth, in your opinion, is ready to accept serious literature?

For the most part, people have almost turned away from poetry - and young people too. The layer of readers has thinned to the limit. But those who remain are true connoisseurs. Having lost the mass reader, having stopped flirting with him, poetry became more complex, deeper and more voluminous.

Do not catch up with the evening thought
it will make the morning again
the flags sagged in the rain
the lantern is burning

and goes hunting
like a beast a rainy day
do the dirty work:
hang shadow on the fence

I will not give him a binge
stealthily evil day
here it already blew
I'll bury him

and get without cheating
a day that will tingle -
like a knife from his pocket -
so and become famous

what else is gloomy recently
and creeping like a reptile
he flies that horse kaury
at random

— Thanks to your active participation, a new poetry festival “The Road to the Temple” was held in Jerusalem in March 2014. What was interesting about him?

Level! High level. For example, the “Emigrant Lira” festival depends on how strong the figures of the visiting participants are on it. The hosts are poor and pale.

And the representatives of the diaspora will crowd in Jerusalem ... there are so many strong poets from different cities.

— What impression did Israel make on you? Do you have friends in this country?

The impression is bright! Was already the third time, then rested in Eilat. The most vivid impression - people, cheerful people, ironic, but good-natured ... And Jerusalem just bewitched ...

In the Old Town - it is clear: everything breathes a living story!

But the modern city, pinkish - especially in the morning - is a stone, the bright appearance of houses, the lively atmosphere of the streets, as if floating out of centuries in our time, is mysterious.

— Daniil Solomonovich, have you ever been to America? Are there any plans to come again?

Was in 1989 and 1992 year. I will be very happy to be in this wonderful country again.

— Happiness, in your understanding, is...

This is practically unattainable, not happiness, but the stability of hope: tomorrow a new and good day will come, this hope makes a person happy in our uncomfortable world.

— What would you like to wish for yourself?

Health to your loved ones, friends. Calm and dignified human life.

Ranovato for Indian summer

In September, the heat broke out.

It is evident that our song is not sung,

As it seemed to us yesterday.

At dawn foggy bottomless

Dispute sassy crows at the window.

Why is our tenderness homeless?

And she is not afraid of separation.

So say it’s time for us, time for us

To scatter for the eye ...

I think good luck for injuries

In the notch in my heart.

*****

House on the outskirts of the forest
The array is quiet and alone
happened to go by - again
we look at the dim light