First published by Ekstasis Editions in 2013, Canadian Randy Kohan’s collection of poetry, Hammers & Bells, drew deeply on the treasury that is Russian literature. Zaira Makhacheva, originally from Dagestan, Russia, and currently living in Canada, initiated and directed the translation of a bilingual edition for presentation in locations across North America and Russia. Translated into Russian by two award-winning Russian writers, Alisa Ganieva and Anastasia Strokina, this edition includes a literary analysis by Dagestan State University professor Firuza Abilova. Cover art is by Dagestan artist Asya Dzhabrailova. Together, after several years of meticulous collaboration, they present this bilingual edition of Hammers & Bells as a lyric window on the expressive nature of two cultures’ languages.

В 2013 году издательство Ekstasis Editions выпустило в свет сборник стихов канадского поэта Рэнди Коэна Hammers & Bells. Любовь Рэнди к русской литературе во многом определила его творчество. Сборник обретает вторую жизнь на русском языке благодаря совместной работе участников международного проекта, задуманного и координированного Заирой Махачевой - дагестанкой, проживающей в настоящее время в Канаде. Перевод на русский язык осуществили Алиса Ганиева и Анастасия Строкина — российские авторы, удостоенные различных литературных премий и наград. Вступительную статью к сборнику подготовила доцент кафедры зарубежной литературы Дагестанского государственного университета Фируза Абилова. Обложку в режиме компьютерной графики оформила Ася Джабраилова. Двуязычная книга стихов Рэнди Коэна — это лирическое пространство, в котором встречаются две культуры, два континента, говорящие об одном и том же на разных языках. Издание рассчитано на студентов гуманитарных вузов, преподавателей английского и русского языков, а также на любителей англоязычной поэзии.

Randy Kohan’s ancestors emigrated from Galicia to Canada at the beginning of the 20th century. Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, he studied History at the University of Regina and the University of Alberta in Edmonton. For two years, he and his wife lived in Southern Mexico supporting Guatemalan refugees, and since 1996, he has been an Employment Counsellor for a non-profit community organization in Edmonton. Randy has published three collections of poetry with Ekstasis Editions – Hammers & Bells (2013), Rain of Naughts (2015) and Hive (2017). His work has been published in annual editions of Edmonton’s Stroll of Poets Anthology as well as in Russian language newspapers in Alberta. One translated poem, Echo from St. Andrew’s, appeared in the Moscow daily newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta in 2015. Between 2014 and 2018, he collaborated with Zaira Makhacheva, Alisa Ganieva, Anastasia Strokina and Asya Dzhabrailova on the dual-language version of Hammers & Bells. The subject of a 2019 documentary film by Edmonton filmmaker Hans Olson, Randy lives in Edmonton with his wife and their two sons.