And every word a miracle

Olzhas Suleimenov (b. 1936) is a poet, critic, activist, diplomat and a native of Kazakhstan, whose work is greatly prized in his homeland and esteemed throughout the world. The present volume comprises the poet's own selection of his best poems, beginning with his earliest works to gain wide recognition. Spanning some twenty-five years, these poems reflect the great changes and upheavals of those times, both political and literary, as well as the changing views and growing mastery of the poet himself. What remains constant throughout is the sincerity of Suleimenov's art, the originality of his vision - always that of one who is at once a stranger and at home in the world - his instinct for the poetic image, and the audacity of his imagination. The translation presented here, first of its kind to showcase the breadth of Suleimenov's achievement, will certainly please the reader already familiar with the poet's work, and positively astonish those discovering this great master for the first time.