THE MANDELSTAM SERIES REVIEW
BY RIA BENITEZ AND CLAUDIA CRUZ
'Skyline Remembered, Skyline Sought' by John Digby & Mark Khidekel
The Mandelstam Series in Manhattan - a collage exhibition by John Digby
by Ria Benitez and Claudia Cruz (International Channel)
On February 7th, The Russian American Cultural Center hosted an art exhibit inspired by the poetry of Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) by the British artist John Digby. Osip Mandelstam, who was born in Poland but raised in St. Petersburg, initially supported the Bolshevik revolution but as their control over Russian artists increased, Mandelstam became more critical of the Soviet regime. His poetry was direct and very observant of the socio-political climate around him, which resulted in his persecution by Stalin's government. The Soviets destroyed all of Mandelstam's printed material but his many close friends risked their lives to ensure the survival of his poetry by memorizing them! Mandelstam spent his later years in exile, serving sentences for counter-revolutionary activities in various work camps, until his death on December 27, 1938, in the Gulag Archipelag.
John Digby's collages reflect Mandelstam's harsh life of exile as expressed in the maze of roads leading nowhere, the broken vectors and color reference to the bleak Siberian landscape.
Ria and I had the pleasure of meeting Regina Khidekel, founder and director of the Russian American Cultural Center (RACC), and featured guest in the In America, The Russian Story. Mrs. Khidekel had personally invited the New York Office to this event. The evening at RACC ended with a poetry reading in both Russian and English from the works of Mandelstam by various Russian and American translators and writers.
SEASHELL by Osip Mandelstam
(Translation by Luda and Dennis Pahl)
Perhaps, Night, you do not need me;
From the world's abyss, as an empty shell,
I've been tossed out upon the margins
To fall under your restless spell.
Your ceaseless waves foam up, untiring.
To no world does your refrain belong;
But you will love with deep admiring
The abandon shell's deceiving song.
On the shore, close by, you'll find your solace,
You'll clothe the shell in rich attire.
To tie together its loneliness
And the dome of depth is your desire.
The frail shell's finest membranes
A house lacking a heart within
You'll fill with the seafoam's gentle whisper,
And misty rain, fog, and wind
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