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:: Poet-bureau ::
Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov served as General Secretary of the USSR after Breshnev's death. While his tenure lasted only 15 months (Nov 1982 to Feb 1984) he still managed to make a lasting impression. His political actions were notoriously complex and oscillatory: he was a strong proponent of disarmament and increased collaboration with "fraternal" states, yet upon taking power, he disconnected the USSR from the international telephone network and made it nearly impossible to export books (the few who were permitted still had to pay a 100% customs duty). Odd behavior for a man who once condoned the deposition of Khrushchev "because he was inconsistent in... policy".
He also wrote politicized poetry.
"POWER CORRUPTS" by Y.V. Andropov (translated)
Some trouble-maker has yelped
That power corrupts people
And every smart-alec confirms it
Already for many years in a row
Not noting - and here's the misfortune
That more often people corrupt power
Say what you will about the man, but at least leaders used to believe sufficiently in their ideology that they would create prose (even if the belief was feigned, I appreciate the effort).
Posted by morland @ 11:41 AM
:: Comments ::
I think you mean poetry.
Posted by: Josh on November 12, 2002 02:51 PM
I was broadening my statement to include leaders who creatively expressed their political ideas in general (at least, via the written word), and thus thought it chauvinistic to impose a limit (i.e. metrical structure) on the form.
Posted by: morland on November 12, 2002 07:02 PM
this guy reminds me of morland in his most recent life. i'll bet right now he's writing a haiku about black shirts and khakis.
Posted by: graham on November 12, 2002 08:48 PM
this guy reminds me of morland in his most recent life. i'll bet right now he's writing a haiku about black shirts and khakis.
Posted by: graham on November 12, 2002 08:48 PM
if by haiku i mean a short, well-edited coming of age story.
Posted by: graham on November 12, 2002 08:49 PM
dammit mike, i'm sure your word choice was perfect...thank you for leading the way in broadening definitions to the point that every word is a synonym for every other word. thank you so much for standing up to those who would claim that poetry refers to poetry and prose to all other, non-poetic literary compositions.
stick it to 'em, mike.
Posted by: Josh on November 12, 2002 09:48 PM
hey now, I'm not trying to promote newspeak. it was already established that he wrote poetry, I was extending my sense of admiration to cover all the literary bases. simmer down.
Posted by: morland on November 13, 2002 11:55 AM
I love you mike. I'm also calmer than you are.
Posted by: Josh on November 13, 2002 01:06 PM
Josh IS calm- he got some of that Prolixin from Dr. Aftab Noorani.
Posted by: Grenergy on November 14, 2002 09:36 PM
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