Ukraine: International Tensions. Kyiv. Kiev. Cultural Relations

Thirty years ago I visited Kyiv, Ukraine, at the invitation of the Rector of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. I was given a warm, friendly welcome on a cold, snowy January day. I was there to negotiate the hosting and opening of a modest British cultural relations and English language teaching facility, which the Institute had requested.

The British Council started operations in Kyiv in 1992.

I have never liked the term 'soft power' but it is certainly preferable to 'hard power', to the international tensions created by unpredictable behaviour or aggressive use of the language of hard power. 

From Chatham House, February, 2021:

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/02/uks-culture-work-ukraine-post-brexit-blueprint

"Britain’s high-quality education, vibrant research institutions and diverse eco-system of culture are often cited as pillars of its ‘soft power’ appeal".

"The example of Ukraine demonstrates the UK’s soft power delivers. According to a survey conducted by IPSOS Mori in 2020, the UK government and its institutions rank first in terms of trust among young people in Ukraine. Among younger Ukrainians, 74 per cent say they believe the UK supports and encourages values important for the 21st century, such as environmental awareness, equality of rights, and world peace".

I was interested to read this FCDO blog posting from July 2019:

https://blogs.fcdo.gov.uk/judithgough/2019/07/20/british-council-impact-and-new-offices-in-ukraine/

Blackbird

A tame and friendly blackbird at our front door. 

We chatted for a while, until he lost interest. 

Colin MacInnes, The Parthenon Marbles, 1957

 

"Greeks and Vandals", a controversial dialogue about the Parthenon Marbles, first published in Twentieth Century, July, 1957.

Republished by MacGibbon & Kee, 1961 and in Penguin Books,1966 (as England, Half English, A Polyphoto of the Fifties, with a new introduction by the author).

Theodorakis, Britten and Bob Dylan: Poetry as Song

Just published: my illustrated article on Poetry and Song, Theodorakis, Britten and Bob Dylan:

https://c20ajournal.com/2021/12/18/theodorakis-britten-bob-dylan-poetry-as-song/

From ISSUE no. 5 of C.20 - an international journal. 

"This issue commemorates the late Mikis Theodorakis with an essay "POETRY AS SONG" by Jim Potts, who attended many concerts by Theodorakis in the 1970s and has been professionally involved with the composer's works. He celebrates Theodorakis' compositions for voice in the context of Benjamin Britten and Bob Dylan".

Christmas Poem (from Words on the table)

 

Poem from Words on the table, Colenso Books

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Words-table-Poems-Jim-Potts/dp/1912788217/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20RA5RJ96YQYA&keywords=jim+potts%2C+words+on+the+table&qid=1639243286&sprefix=Jim+Potts%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-1

 

Words on the table

Top Amazon reviews from United Kingdom

Nangle Rare Books

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2021

This collection is a truly important one which reflects our relatively recent international and national history in a way few books of poetry can. Many of the poems are short and hugely digestible while others, longer, re-awaken the reader to memories too easily forgotten, such as the war in Sarajevo in the early 1990's. However, for this reader, Potts' poems inspired by the 'Blues' and its practitioners, such as Howlin' Wolf, stand out. These are memories that live happily in the heart and soul of anyone with a beating heart. His recollection of the moment Elvis died is worth repeating here: 'Of course Elvis' death was the talk of the town/I heard about it on the radio/whilst having a bath in Nairobi'. Julian Nangle

Mark Allen

5.0 out of 5 stars A real feast of poetry

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2021 

Words On The Table is a veritable feast of poetry, spanning many decades and forged from a life spent all over the world. Jim Potts’ poetry is rich and varied, with pithy and wry observations and profound comments about the state of the world. There is a restless quality to the poetry, a yearning for a better world and an admirable curiosity about areas of interest, like music, history and architecture. I thoroughly recommend this excellent book of poetry.

Dick Alford

5.0 out of 5 stars Journeys with Jim Potts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2021

Jim Potts' poems take his readers by the hand and guide them around the world, visiting countries where he has lived- Greece and Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Velvet Revolution feature prominently- not forgetting Dorset his home now. His poems, especially the endings, keep us moving on, keen to see more places and meet new people, pleased to have been with him on his journeys.

Anthony Hirst - ΑΝΤΟΝΥ ΧΙΡΣΤ, ΕΝΑΣ ΠΟΛΥΜΑΘΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΟΛΥΤΕΧΝΙΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΤΗΣ

https://neoplanodion.gr/category/%ce%bd%cf%80-%ce%b1%cf%86%ce%b9%ce%b5%cf%81%cf%8e%ce%bc%ce%b1%cf%84%ce%b1/

Continuation:

https://neoplanodion.gr/2021/12/11/anthony-hirst-enas-polymathes-kai-polytechnites-hellenistes/#more-14345

Anthony Hirst, poems in Greek translation:

https://neoplanodion.gr/2021/12/12/anthony-hirst-plateia-klauthmonos-kai-alla-poiemata/