The border of defence

Europe and Russia

pp. 157-176

in: Heikki Mikkeli, Jo Campling, Europe as an idea and an identity, Berlin, Springer, 1998

Abstract

This poem, The East-West Border" (1987), by the Estonian poet Jaan Kaplinski admirably epitomizes the idea that the frontier between East and West is not just a line on a map or even a geographical border. Instead, it is a constantly shifting frontier moulded in the course of history by changing political conditions and cultural identities.