Vasili Tyorkin: A Book about a Soldier by Alexander Tvardovsky Abigail Parry as true poetry should

as true poetry should

This substantial volume is a tribute to the maturing voice of an essential poet

and what we are compelled by

These ‘books’ gather poems in different metres and concentrate on specific themes

Vasili Tyorkin: A Book about a Soldier by Alexander Tvardovsky Abigail Parry as true poetry shouldVasili Tyorkin: A Book about a Soldier is one of the great epic poems of the Second World War. Published in army newspapers and broadcast on the radio between 1942 and 1945, it was hugely popular with Soviet soldiers, many of whom believed it was about a real person was real. Private Tyorkin is an accordion playing Everyman figure, who moves between comedy and reluctant heroism. He is a cheerful grumbler always on the lookout for food and a quick kip,