The imprisoned poet Russia does not want you to read
Jénia Berkovitch, sentenced to a penal colony in 2024, is the subject of a growing translation effort in France, where Alexey Voïnov is bringing her verse into French and calling for her release.
Jénia Berkovitch, a Russian poet and theatre director, is serving a sentence in a penal colony after being convicted in 2024 for staging a play judged by authorities to be an "apology of terrorism," according to Bibliobs/Le Nouvel Obs.
Her case has drawn attention beyond Russia's borders. Alexey Voïnov, who is translating her poetry into French, describes her as a major artist and is calling publicly for her release, the outlet reports.
Tout le monde devrait lire ses vers.
Alexey Voïnov, cité par Bibliobs
The report gives no further detail on the translated volume itself — no title, publisher or publication date is mentioned in the source. For readers who follow poetry in translation and the situation of writers under prosecution in Russia, Berkovitch's name is one to keep watching as Voïnov's work makes its way into French.
Sources
This article was written from these reports.
