The Song of the Mocking Bird

Marina Tsvetaeva, one of this century's leading Russian authors, was fascinated by Pushkin throughout her life. She often modelled herself on Russia's first great poet. This book examines Tsvetaeva's writings on Pushkin, including her translations of his poetry into French. It sheds a new light on Tsvetaeva's avant-garde poetics, arguing that mimicry played a crucial rôle in her writings Tsvetaeva was brought up to speak German and French as well as Russian, and with most of her works written as an émigré in Berlin, Czechoslovakia and France she was a truly European author and critic. This book shows how Tsvetaeva's work on Pushkin shaped and revealed her Russian identity.