Бажанов, А. Стихи и поэмы о саамском крае = Verses & poems on the Saami land / Аскольд Бажанов ; English translation by Naomi Caffee ; with an essay by Johanna Domokos. - Berlin : Nordeuropa-Institut der Humboldt-Universitat, 2009.

i8 g lished in Russian as a series in Lovozerskaia pravda. Since this novel appeared bilingually, in Kildin Saami as Vill’kes’ puaz (The white reindeer) and North Saami Gabba in 1996, the work was accessible to native readers from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. This present bilingual edition of Bazhanov’s poems in Russian originals and English translation aims to positively influence not only Bazhanov’s literary works but to draw the attention of many other readers to this area o f the world. Majoridentificationandinterpretation aspectsofAskoldBazhanov’spoetry In the following section I w ill examine the four important identifi cation and interpretation aspects of Saami literature that help us to identify special characteristics particular to the locale, idiom, and psyche of Bazhanov. 1. Saami literature/ Bazhanov’spoetryas anexampleofindigenousliterature The works o f Saami authors stand on the crossroads o f several valid interpretations. We can view them as representatives of the in digenous world, with their culture contributing to vast insights into archaic, modern, and postmodern worlds. From this respect sev eral comparative studies have been done by Harald Gaski, Kathleen Osgood Dana, and Rauna Kuokkanen. The works o f Saami authors like Bazhanov are good companions to the works o f many Native American authors, who have lost their native language but not their native soul and their connection to the land. For them the past is not a foreign country; memory and imagination - which are also the most inventive and intimate aspects of Bazhanov’s poetry - al ways help getting there quickly and efficiently, w ithout any travel restrictions. As Bazhanov’s trips unfold, the reader can proceed at an undemanding pace, exploring sites of particular interest or mov ing about from place to place without feeling hurried, as in »Polar January N igh ts... « (p. 75):