Overall, I am deeply suspicious of Impressionism. As a 19th-century movement in the Arts, it seems to be continually dominated by inconsequential compositions, with far too much emphasis on our ever-changing perspectives - exaggerated, as these occasionally are, by the effects of one's passage through time. This is not to say, of course, that only empirical facts should be the defining feature of aesthetic endeavour. Indeed, the predictably dreary and often bland productions of Soviet-style Social Realism perpetually stand as a grim reminder to this failing. However, "abstraction," in itself, obviously stretches beyond an insistence on arbitrary sensory adjustments, inordinately detailed atmospheres, or evocative environmental qualities. Truly, our world makes an impression upon the physical senses, but as part of a two-way process; whereby human exteriors struggle against an equal flood of sophisticated substances welling up from inside ourselves. So, editing a series of manifestly Impressionist poems by Lenar Shayeh in his collection One of You was, at first, something of a mixed blessing.
It goes without saying, I was already aware of Shayev's impeccable credentials. Moreover, as an Ethnic Tatar (not Tartar, but a related Turkic-speaking people living in Central Asia), I was conscious of the fact that if anyone could soften my attitude towards Impressionism, it would be him. After all, as a writer, Shayev's reputation travels before him. And as such, I had previously suspected he draws his inspiration from those fearless ancestors who migrated to the Russian Plains centuries ago. Each courageous component of which appears juxtaposed with the impact of modernity on our current Society. Either way, regional rumours still bear witness to Tatar's being blessed by tender hearts, ferocious strength, as well as an unstoppable creativity. Thus, with the turning of every page, I felt One of You thawing my otherwise frosty preconceptions.
Clearly, this slender, although ingenious, volume deserves to be read as a contribution to Global Text. In which case, Shayev's crisp, occasionally obscure - albeit genuinely intriguing, collection is a publication I wholeheartedly recommend to British readers.
David Parry, London 2017
