Bella Akhmadulina

“She was one of the great poets of the 20th century,” said Sonia I. Ketchian, the author of“The Poetic Craft of Bella Akhmadulina” (1993). “There’s Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Mandelstam and Pasternak — and she’s the fifth.”





“When a young person comes to ask me, ‘Should I, should I not, write poetry?’ I say, ‘If there’s a choice, don’t.’ ” - B. A. 


Akhmadulina passed away last November. I kept meaning to read this little piece about her. She seems someone I should have read before now. So now I will, just in time for poetry month.