Bilingual...: Songs & Poems

By Vasily Colchenco

This is a book of songs and poems in Russian and in English, about fifty-fifty. (The online description had to be in English only but the book text is in both languages.) Topics include life, love, family, work, play, art, music, poetry, nature, science, history, geography, migration, education, politics, economy, computers, internet... many modern concerns as well as everlasting thoughts and emotions. Pieces are divided into Songs and Poems. Song lyrics have music written for them. Poems include short poems, epigrams and medium-size poems, some free verse, but most of them are rhythmic and rhyming. The tone varies from lyrical to satirical, with mild irony and wordplay. Below is the Afterword from the book. "The project began as a songwriter's journal. Songwriting has its intuitive rules: frequent repeats-refrains, easy phonetic sound, distinctive rhythm and rhyming, simple but effective lines, familiar premise and style... When text is not fit for music (epigrams, free verse), we can experiment more. Simplicity and colloquialism are great, and so are layers of meaning and language. Of all definitions of poetry, Auden's 'memorable speech' seems best to me. There's always a question: Is it memorable enough? Of course, it depends on how well it is written but also on the reader - will it resonate? The number of bilingual people in the world is growing. For me, bilingualism started late, when I moved to the U.S. and became a teacher. Both Russian and English are dear to me, and both are here. Hope is the language of all people. To distinguish it from delusion, we need to look closely at reality, as painful (or hilarious) as it could be."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1480228788
• ISBN13: 9781480228788
• Release Date: November 2012
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 138 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.3" x 5.3"