Julia Cimafiejeva
Autoportret w postaci pestki awokado
This book is a poetic self-portrait of the author, who lives in exile, wandering through various European cities. The protagonist engages in conversations with the living and the dead, with relatives and strangers, with plants and animals, with streets and cities. Most importantly, she converses with herself – a girl from a Polesia village familiar with the poison and sweetness of wolfberries, born during times of change. As a student, she discovers the world in an oppressed country. Eventually, as an adult woman, she chooses poetry as a way to communicate with the world, with her voice now resonating in various languages. This voice is full of fear, sometimes sad, sometimes contemplative, but always clear, inquisitive, and audible. “It is I” – quietly but surely, says the pit of an exotic fruit from this rich image full of colors and nuances, affirming life and its endless, triumphant diversity. – Alhierd Bacharevič
“A necessary and devastatingly beautiful read” – Pierce Alquist
“Images of wordlessness, thwarted regeneration, and ecological catastrophe—give the book its depth, and announce Julia Cimafiejeva as a poet that readers will want to follow in the future.”– Jessica Johnson
