Preserve My Words Forever

Assemblage with various papers, found materials: portfolio, string, postage stamps, postmarked envelopes, photograph, a leather portfolio case (rope handle at bottom right), metal pens, ink, gouache, gold leaf on gesso and ammoniac

Akhmatova Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

This piece is my tribute to the courage and endurance of the Russian people. I chose the poetry of Osip Mandelstam as subject matter because it bears witness both to the terrible grimness of the Stalin era and to the invincible strength of the human spirit, even under extreme duress. I wanted to create a calligraphic “documentary” which would suggest the circumstances of Mandelstam’s life and times, showcase his poetry in Russian and English, and pay homage to his wife for preserving his work for posterity. It is meant to suggest the precious contents of a battered suitcase, finally opened for the world to see. —William Stewart