Henry Sapgir
poet
 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

     I am Henry V. Sapgir, born on November 20, 1928, a resident of Moscow. Since the age of 14 my spiritual father was the original poet, artist and sculptor Eugeny L. Kropivnitsky, the founder of the so called "Lianozovo School". My army service took place in Urals. Then I worked in sculpture atelie, where I made friends with a number of talented sculptors, Ernst Neizvestny among them.

     My first publication appeared in 1959. The poet Boris Slutsky, with all his definiteness, once told me: "You are a formalist, that's why you will make a good children writer." Since then I repeatedly cooperated with such publishing houses like "Detskaya Literatura", "Malysh", "Sovetsly Pisatel", "Khudozhestvennaya Literatura", etc., and published monthly children poems and translations. As for my innermost, that's two little poetry books, published in Paris, namely "Sonety na rubashkakh" ("Sonets on the shirts"), "Stikhi - 87" ("Poems - 87") and "Stena" ("The Wall") in Moscow. 1989. Besides that, my poems were published in the literary almanac "Metropol", "Chast Rechi", "Apollo - 77", in the magazines "Novy Mir", "Continent", "Strelets", etc., "Selected Works" - Moscow, 1993.

     For the last 25 years I've been writing theatre plays and cinema scripts. I am the member of such organisations as professional Union of Soviet Cinematographists, Moscow Association of professional writers, PEN Club, UNIMA. I am the member of editorial board of the almanac "Strelets". 






 
ICARUS
(to Oscar Rabin)
The sculptor
made a statue of Icarus
His model stalked out
grumbling: "Lousy hack!
I have muscles
not parts of a motor. "
His buddies came
and said: "It's trite." 
Only women saw,
a work of genius.
Whad power !  A real masterpiece
In the tradition
of ancient Greece.
Sexual emotions: 
I'd like my children to be sired
by a gearbox!
She conceived - and speedily
in overdrive
gnawing at the bit
gave birth to a chopper
He's flying and crying
calling for his mammy -
disappears in the clouds...
The public weeps:
SUCH IS THE EDUCATIONAL MEANING OF ART!
The artist bows. In the square
a bust
is erected:
self-portrait,
truck,
telephone booth.
SUCH IS THE EDUCATIONAL MEANING OF ART! - Adapted by Alexander Andreyev
  




Miracle! 
A new Furniture & Crockery
store opened in town
IVAN AND THE DIVAN
    Ivan 
    Bought a convertible divan,
    All the merrier to sleep with his wife. 
    There's a truck near the gate. 
    It's okay, he says, I'm used to it. 
    The people around helped 
Ivan 
Load the divan 
on his back, 
Off goes Ivan
Sporting - a divan.
It's hot.
Up the hill.
Past the shack.
The river.
His village is right there
On the other side.
But to the bridge -
It's a mile!
Near the water 
In the sand - the divan
resting on it is Ivan.
A goldfinch
Chirped -
And sat on the divan.

Shoo -

Go away, says Ivan.
Brushed a feather from the upholstery.
From up the hill the girls
saw suddenly
How Ivan and the divan
Started. to ford, the river

The divan's afloat!

People running to get a look! Ivan is safe.
The divan sank.
Life is death without a divan!
Wails the better half of Ivan.
Poor Ivan!
He got drunk on moonshine booze 

And started making up blues:
Convertible divan -

bad news! Adapted by Alexandr Andreev





THE TRIAL 
I talk to God 
like a friend
but I only believe
          in my legs.

They carry me
to the square
to the Last Judgement
"What happened
Who are they hanging?
Answer I"
"They are executing
Jews."
"Not all the doctors,
surely?"
(Laughter)

"Rabinovich?"
"Rabinovich!"
"Abramovich?"
"Abramovich!"
"And Gurevich?"
. "Yes, Gurevich!."
"And Petrov Ivan Petrovich?" 
Odd.
The fellow stares
ominously.
I break out
in cold sweat.
"you wouldn't by chance
belong to a sect?
Comrades,
An intellectual!"
The war ended. Then
- the carnage began.
It got so bad. that
God my best friend 
couldn't help anyone. God, does have one great defect:
he is embarrassed by intellect. - adapted by Alexander Andreyev

Russian PEN centre