Fwd: Achmatova

[Adrian Wanner]

Dear SEELANGERS,
I am forwarding a query from a friend of mine.  The question seems to 
relate to Akhmatova's poem "Iiul' 1914," which mentions that no rain 
had fallen since Easter.  Does anyone know whether this was actually 
"true," or whether she is engaging in poetic license?
Thanks,
Adrian Wanner

>Forgive me for bothering you with a question. A friend of mine wants 
>to have some meteorological information for a book he's writing. 
>Specifically, he wants to paint the following  scene: Bezhetsk, July 
>1914, the datsha of Achmatova's mother-in-law, who is sewing her own 
>funeral shroud. Athmospheric! So if the weather is suitably 
>doom-ridden (thunderstorms etc) that would be nice for his purposes, 
>but he'd like to know for sure. Would you have any idea at all where 
>to look for this? Anybody's memoirs who lived near there, for 
>instance? (NB My friend doesn't know Russian.) All information 
>welcome.
>Thanks and see you soon, I hope.
>Sophie
>Sophie de Schaepdrijver
>Associate Professor of Modern European History
>The Pennsylvania State University
>Department of History
>108 Weaver
>University Park, Pennsylvania 16802-5500
>USA
>Phone 1-814-865 3797
>Fax 1-814-863 7840

-- 
*****************************************************************
Adrian J. Wanner
Head, Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures
Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature
The Pennsylvania State University
313 Burrowes Building
University Park, PA 16802

Tel. (814) 865-5481
Fax  (814) 863-8882

http://german.la.psu.edu

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