By Anatoly Avrutin
Among the millions of those who write verse, only a few thousand do so professionally. Meanwhile, the number of true poets is even smaller. They notice what others fail to.
Having authored her first poetic collection — Moon of Sadness — at the tender age of 15, Maria immediately attracted attention from her profession. Her intonation is beyond her age, creating the impression that her verse is written by an elderly Balzac woman. At the same time, she lacks affectation or exaggeration.
Over the past two years, the poetess has managed to make a name for herself, winning the Grand Prix of the National Literary Competition (organised by the Belarusian Union of Writers), in addition to the prestigious D. Likhachev Literary Award in St. Petersburg and the N. Rubtsov Award in Moscow. Not long ago, she was given a diploma from London’s International Festival of Russian Poetry and Culture — Pushkin in Britain.
The recent release of her second volume — Under a Transparent Hand — shows that she is not just a child prodigy and is worthy of claiming her place on the adult stage. Those who kindly smiled on her young talent yesterday now see her as a worthy rival who threatens to unseat some established writers — perhaps to their chagrin.
However, it seems that the young poetess is unaffected by such matters, concentrating on creating poetry with a strong voice, full of emotions. Her new collection confirms her as a bright star among modern poets. Of course, her ‘innocent’ emotions may eventually be supplemented by more serious thoughts, borne of life experience — natural for any true poet. Nevertheless, we believe that Maria will cope well.
