In these frenzied and troubled times a wonderful event, much more than an event, took place at the residence of the Russian ambassador on Saturday evening: Anastasia Kuznetsova, singer, songwriter and translator daughter of Joseph Brodsky, performed songs “From those who haven’t forgotten me”, a perfect combination of her own settings and poems from her father and, among others, a beautiful Hebrew song. Ambassador Yakovenko introduced the evening and he and his wife hosted a post-performance drinks reception. The force behind all of this was Valentina Polukhina, who over nearly 50 years in Britain has been tireless in the great cause of Russian poetry and writing, not least of Brodsky. Although “a private performance”, it was one of shared acclaim and memory. Brodsky wrote: “A language is a much more ancient and inevitable thing than a state. I belong to the Russian language.” For a few infinite moments at 13 Kensington Palace Gardens on the last day of March, so did we all.

Bruce Ross-Smith

Oxford

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