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.

1 9 1 cosmic framework. In this way one learns how to view oneself and one’s tradition w ithin a w ider flow w ithout creating unnecessary conflict w ith the majority. From this respect the literary analyst finds plentiful examples in the content and form of this poetry for intra-cultural moments, wherein the majority and m inority cultures of the area unite through a common history. Let us quote two suit able examples from the following two poems (pp. 37 and 55): The January light arrives but for a moment... The reindeer, a warm mass of trailing clouds, walk through the night toward a rosy sunrise. You can’t sever them from our venerable tundra; a herd o f ATV ’s cannot replace them. And even in this age o f cosmic spaceflight, a time of dramatic but benevolent changes, for the Saami, the northern reindeer remains undemanding, simple, and protected. It’s my fault that father is not among the living... It’s my fault that Father is not among the living, and that my reindeer does not graze with the herd. It’s my fault that I cannot build a life under the family roof. It’s my fault that my mother broke down in that endless post-war year o f hardship. It’s my fault that I failed to understand from where the deathly wind blew in on us! It’s my fault that the creative sadness gave me a chance to live on and strengthened my soul 3. Saami literature/ Bazhanov’spoetryasan exampleofuniversal andhomelandliterature Literature, as Paula Allen puts it, is a wonderful spiritual gift cre ated by the most precious human characteristic: the mind and the