Varlam Shalamov in "Baltic Worlds"

[Robert Chandler]

Dear all,

I want to bring your attention to a recent article by Josefina Lundblad in "Baltic Worlds".  It is a report on a recent Shalamov conference in Prague, but it is a great deal more than that. I want to quote just a few lines, simple but profound:

"As we continue to explore camp narratives, we perform a task similar to that of those who fed, bathed, clothed, and cared for the survivors of Auschwitz, as described by Primo Levi in the beginning of his memoir The Truce. After all, the history of humanity is not solely a history of survivors and perpetrators — it is also a history within which those who were neither can choose to play their part. Where there is a victim of trauma, there needs to another human being willing to listen, and who can therefore also participate in the crucial act of continued remembrance."

Here is a link to the complete article:
http://balticworlds.com/when-a-poet-writes-prose/

All the best,

Robert

Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD

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