Entangled Memories: representations of Crimea in literature, poetry and art

Abstract

The United Nations' cultural agency, UNESCO, has recently added the Historic Centre of Odesa (Ukraine) to its World Heritage List. Odesa is part of the Crimean Peninsula and it is a legendary port that has left its mark on the cinema, literature and the arts. Crimea has always attracted a large number of cultural figures including Alexandr Pushkin, Maxim Gorky, Anna Akhmatova, Ivan Bunin, Marina Tsvetaeva, Isaac Babel, Boris Pasternak, etc. Like the Russian-born Anton Chekhov, Ukrainian authors who have written about the peninsula were, historically, not native Crimeans. Crimea is not only the focus of geopolitical conflict, but also the source of artistic and literary inspiration. In this article, I analyze some perspectives on Crimea, starting with Ivan K. Aivazovsky’s paintings (1817-1900), and some selected texts from those of the above-mentioned authors. For a current view on Crimea, I shall also consider some aspects of Ilya Kaminsky’s contemporary poetry.