Russia (bbabo.net), - The end of this week, January 22, marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the grandiose poet Yuri Levitansky. If it were my will, I would call these days "Levitansky Week". Levitansky is not just a powerful poet, he is a master who helps us live. Quite specific.

Did you notice that we were out of breath? The whole world. We have ceased to feel joy from the very process of breathing. We breathe like driven horses, gasping for air with nervous lips. I think - metaphorically, of course, speaking - the Lord did not send us respiratory ailments in vain in the hope that we will stop, change our minds, and then calm breathing will help create a more peaceful life.

We do not think.

And suddenly - Levitansky: "The only thing is to look closely, My God.// The whole thing is to look carefully.// And you won't leave, and there's nowhere else to go// From these eyes, from their sudden depth."

Do you feel? Breathing improves. The world inside - and, therefore, around - calms down. You even suddenly begin to think that he is not so nervous, this world, that there are many beautiful things in it.

"Yes, I say, life is still beautiful, / even when it is difficult and when it is dangerous, / / ​​even when it is intolerable, almost terrible / / - life, I say, life is still beautiful." This was written by a poet who "was dying in a hospital bed, young, with his stomach open."

Levitansky loved Chekhov very much. This is a known fact. "I'll take out a book. Not a check book, / But a good book, Chekhov." (We will leave the study of Levitansky's rhymes to specialists, but we will admire). Chekhov was a doctor.

Levitansky was a warrior. At nineteen, he volunteered for the war. The first publications of the front-line correspondent Yuri Levitansky date back to 1943. I went through it all - from call to call. And even - after the call. In the summer of 1945, when most of the soldiers were returning home, Levitansky, together with the 53rd Army, was sent to Mongolia, as he himself said, "for a small war" with Japan. The war may have been small, but the deaths are real.

Levitansky was a warrior, but he loved people. He knew too well the price of life and death

Chekhov was a doctor, but at the same time, it seems to me, he was rather arrogant towards people. To understand this, it is enough to read the stories of Chekhonte. Levitansky was a warrior, but he loved people. Or maybe not "but", that's exactly why he loved. He knew too well the price of life and death. Too often I saw that when people die, "the sky collapses. The earth collapses. / And only you can't see it from the side."

I was lucky to know Yuri Davydovich personally. My dad, the poet Mark Maximov, and my mom, Antonina Nikolaevna, were friends with him. Levitansky came to visit us and even signed a book for me. I was a boy, a boy. Among my father's friends there were many who later became known as "classics of Soviet literature." Future classics did not notice me. At best, they asked a beloved by adults, absolutely meaningless question: "How are you at school?"

Levitansky treated me with interest and respect. My merit in this is zero, he was just such a person. In those, now somehow suspiciously distant years, it was customary to read poetry in the kitchens. I, the boy, was not kicked out. And they even asked: "Well, how?" I was delighted.

"What's going on in the world? It's just spring.// Just spring, do you think? Yes, I think..." Levitansky is a poet whose poems, set to music by Sergei Nikitin, are featured in an Oscar-winning film.

Levitansky did not write individual poems, but books. The plot of life turned into the plot of a poetry collection. Not in a set of individual poems, but in a poetic plot!

When his "Kinematograf" came out, we were stunned. That was incredible. A collection of poetry that had to be read from beginning to end, like prose. And improve breathing. Certainly! A must have in any era. "And then this maturity will also become at a certain hour / / childhood, the first steps of those who will be after us / / live, participate in events, drink, love, go to the bottom ... / / my life, my colorful, panoramic cinema".

Levitansky's poems should also be read because they are healing. Two of his books were published for the anniversary. I keep them in front of my eyes - they are beautiful. One is called "Time, fearless artist." Published with love, just a work of printing art.

The second "Poems" was published in the "New Poet's Library". This is the most complete edition of Levitansky's poems. Those who wish can see how the poet has changed over the years. I'm not interested in this - I'm interested in adjusting the breath to the calm, and thoughts - to the eternal. Break away from the hustle and bustle and come to the ultimate clarity. "Everyone chooses for himself// a woman, religion, a road.// Serve the Devil or a prophet// everyone chooses for himself."

When his "Kinematograf" came out, we were stunned. That was incredible. A collection of poetry that had to be read from beginning to end, like proseThe finale of Levitansky's week will be the evening of his memory on January 22 at the Central House of Writers. People who knew the poet will remember him, read him and sing songs based on his poems. I have the honor of hosting this evening, admission to which is absolutely free. How many people will come to remember Yuri Davydovich? Does it really matter? I don't think he does. He created everything he could. For our healthy self-knowledge. And it's important for us. Levitansky's poetry opens up to us like the sea. This is not just a metaphor. The sea in Latvian is called "Jura". And then one day the poet left the house and saw a sign: "Yura". The arrow pointed to the right place - to the eternal movement of the wave and boundlessness. To Yuri Levitansky - this is the right direction.

Happy Anniversary Genius! One hundred years is, in essence, only the beginning of eternity. Your poems have a wonderful life. And a great future.

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