The Empire of Missed Chances
What People Are Saying about Vol I:
Yevtushenko’s phrases grip you in unexpected ways; they hold you with satisfaction: “Sugar still cutting / the warm bitter tea” – “within the altar of my footsteps” – “something sacred in something shared” – “leaves of grass / taught to be blades” – “stronger than forests / breathing trees” – “with a thirst for fresh thunders.” Joined with the vibrant photography by Megan Torres, this ekphrastic collection is a chance you don’t want to miss.
Ken Hada, author of Come Before Winter
An attempt to make sense of our short lives through a blending of sacred myth and the reality of today’s life in dreams. Relationships and the various changes that healing brings. Yevtushenko takes a step forward in this bold approach. Accompanying photographs will further challenge you as they provide a collaborative form of commentary on the subjects, while also drawing you in their own worlds…
Bill McCloud, author of The Smell of the Light
Zhenya Yevtushenko’s Manual for Masculinity, isn’t rigid or prescriptive; instead it defines masculinity through experience and observation, always expanding to hold more nuance. The most striking moments in these poems are those in which men touch, talk, connect. Yevtushenko’s poems create space for men, “no longer swords nor cleavers,” to reach out and lock hands with one another. Amid brilliant twisting of language and vivid imagery, these poems are dark lonely rooms cut through by windows of light and warm company.
Quinn Carver Johnson, author of The Perfect Bastard
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What People Are Saying about Vol II:
“This collection finds Zhenya Yevtushenko exploring the feminine with a daring tenderness. The poetry excavates past tropes and romanticization of humanity’s most endangered gender identity to knock at the doors of its secret vault – the delicate beating heart of femininity. At these doors, Yevtushenko uses the richness of his verse to ask the feminine not only what it is, but what it dreams, what it demands, and what it fights for. The weaving of this poetry with the curious, melodic images of Megan Torres makes Volume II a sacred dance of visual and verbal language worth reading a second time, and a third…”
Nuova Wright, author of little wife: the story of gold
An attempt to make sense of our short lives through a blending “Zhenya Yevtushenko’s poetry is a cornucopia of questions, conversations and verbal imagery that expands snapshot moments into a sensory experience.”
Deborah J. Hunter, author of The Red Shoes and Porches
“A morning spent staring at oneself in the mirror. The poems work as a series of reflections composing a self-portrait. Mother, lover, and literary influence construct an inner-voice with empathy, confidence, and intuition. The poems feel like both a delicate dance and a deep dive within, that work together to rejoice in the power of nature and the feminine.”
Aly Allen, author of Paying for Gas with Quarters: A Parent’s Odyssey in Poems
Empire of Missed Chances Catalogue
Vol 1 Preview Below -
Vol 1 Preview Below -
Tulsa business owner and photographer Megan Torres has been working with local writer Zhenya Yevtushenko on a project that brings together poetry and photography.
Through the dual perspectives of these disciplines the two are launching three volumes of ekphrastic work titled Empire of Missed Chances.
Ekphrasis is poetry that is inspired by art, and/or art that is inspired by poetry.
The first volume of the collection, Manual for Masculinity, will explore the social definitions and limitations of masculinity.
As Oklahomans the artists are frustrated by the poisonous and dangerous games being played with the multi-faceted issues surrounding gender identity within our cultural dialogue.
The project does not seek to provide quick answers, but rather urges us to re-examine pre-conceived and packaged ideas surrounding gender using a photographer’s lens and a poet’s pen.
