This double existence (“as though at the verge of double being,” to quote Tyutchev, whose poetry probably is closest to hers) is the first such case in literature. Most bilingual writers remain themselves when moving to another language. Kane in English is a different person with a different memory. Yet all of this is painted on a Russian canvas; grows from Russian soil, from clay (a word that occurs repeatedly in her poetry, which is important and revealing); from the Russian subconscious and Russian intimations of God. It is Kane’s religious sensibility – not at all church-based, and even more definitely not sectarian – that places her poetry into the tradition of Tyutchev, Tarkovsky, Zabolotsky; it is this circle of authors that determines its poetics and themes.

Poetry needs no introduction, justification or explanation. Kane is a mature poet who has found a way to draw a lyrical theme out of her drama and to transmute this drama into literary fact. Since by now thousands of our compatriots – former, returned, or living in two countries – are burdened with such a double being, this book will be in demand, it will be read, and it will lighten many a soul.

This is the first case in which I do not regret that a talented poet left Russia. She emigrated into literature. And that is the best thing you can choose to do with yourself.

Dmitry Bykov

Зимородок / Kingfisher

Зимородок

Зимородок живёт в трёх стихиях. Гнездо – нора в земле. Пропитание птица добывает подводной охотой. А странствия – это полёт.

Яна Кане – человек, обитающий в трёх стихиях. Она обрела литературный голос на английском языке, но не утратила русский язык, не оборвала связь со своим наставником, Лейкиным, с кругом общения, в который вошла благодаря участию в его студии. По профессии Кане – статистик. Она так обозначила связь между своей профессиональной и литературной деятельностью: «Поэзия и статистика – это два разных языка, на которых я говорю о том, что структура и неопределённость в равной степени присущи нашему существованию».

Kingfisher

A kingfisher lives in three different elements: it builds its nest by digging a tunnel in the earth, travels by flying, feeds by diving and swimming to catch fish.

Yana Kane inhabits three domains: Russian poetry, English poetry, and statistics. She grew up in the Soviet Union and began to compose poetry as a child. She came to the US as a refugee at the age of 16. Her poems and translations in Russian and English appear in anthologies and magazines in the US, Russia, and Western Europe. She holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Princeton University and a Ph. D. in Statistics from Cornell University. She works as a statistician. For Kane, poetry and statistics reflect both the structure and the uncertainty of our existence.