Marina Tsvetaeva : the double beat of Heaven and Hell /

Independent scholar and translator Lily Feiler has written an excellent new biography of Marina Tsvetaeva. With its focus on the poet's psychological makeup, the book complements the already existing, traditional studies of Tsvetaeva's life and works (Simon Karlinsky, Marina Cvetaeva: Her Life and Art, CH, Feb'68; Marina Tsvetaeva: The Woman, Her World and Her Poetry, CH, Nov'86; Elaine Feinstein, A Captive Lion: The Life of Marina Tsvetaeva, CH, Dec'87) and offers new insights about the poet. Rather than conduct a literary exegesis on the poetry itself, Feiler treats the life as a literary study, tracing the psychological themes and images that made up the whole woman as well as laid as the basis of her complex, often contradictory, sometimes cruel relationships with people as child, mother, wife, lover, and friend. Tsvetaeva's all-consuming need for love as a woman and recognition as a poet first and foremost motivated her to sacrifice all--even people she loved--for the sake of her poetry. Feiler also studies the sexual and political forces that contributed to the formation of an essentially self-destructive personality. Well-written and nonjudgmental, this objective presentation of the truth offers much that is new and valuable, even to those scholars already acquainted with Tsvetaeva's life and poetry. It is also suitable as an introductory study of the poet. General and academic audiences. C. A. Rydel; Grand Valley State University

Somewhat overshadowed in the West by famous contemporaries Akhmatova, Mandelstam, and Pasternak, noteworthy Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva is finally getting the attention she deserves. Translator/ scholar Feiler's critical biography is the second in as many years, following quickly on the heels of Viktoria Schweitzer's successful Tsetaeva (LJ 4/15/93). Feiler and Schweitzer cover the same territory-the poet's singular childhood, struggles during the Revolution, exile, and eventual return to the Soviet Union, where she committed suicide in 1941-but differ in tone. While Schweitzer is rhapsodic and inspired, Feiler is sober, clear, and direct. She places somewhat greater emphasis on Tsvetaeva's troubled relationship with her mother and offers solid readings of the poems. Public libraries already owning Schweitzer's work don't need to add Feiler's, but academic libraries should strongly consider filling out their collections with this well-crafted study.-Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal" (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.