A PERSONAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE MOST FAMOUS RUSSIAN POET OF THE 20TH CENT. HAIGHT WAS PRIVILEGED TO HAVE ACCESS TO AKHMATOVA IN THE LAST YEARS OF HER LIFE AND IS ABLE TO BRING AA TO LIFE. A SHORT BOOK IT CONTAINS ALL THAT IS NECESSARY TO APPRECIATE AA ( )

Amanda Haight produced an marvelous, analytical, informative biography of the Russian poet (not "poetess!") Anna Akhmatova. This woman's life was certainly fascinating in its own right, and Haight makes it all the more interesting because of her clear presentation, good organization, and obvious connection with her subject. The poet's life is covered from her birth to her death in the 1960s; in her long life, she saw the revolution, suffered great personal tragedy (often the product of the Stalinist regime), but kept writing through it all. This biography would be interesting to a person who had no prior knowledge of Akhmatova or a person who is familiar with her poetry and wants to know more about the writer. I have always found that Akhmatova and Wordsworth are the two poets I have the most trouble separating from the speakers of their poetry, and this biography is thus a very interesting companion to Akhmatova's work. Haight's writing and research are difficult to find fault with. I also recommend THE COMPLETE POEMS OF ANNA AKHMATOVA, edited by Roberta Reeder. ( )