Solzhenitsyn the prophet, Solzhenitsyn the writer

There are two facets to Solzhenitsyn. I was thinking of this when I started my post on Cancer Ward, but I've been thinking more about it. There are two aspects of Solzhenitsyn that I like. First there is Solzhenitsyn the moral prophet, revealing the truth of what the Soviet system really did to people. Second, there is Solzhenitsyn the writer, who writes stories of realistic characters in real situations.

If you like Solzhenitsyn the moral prophet first and foremost, your favorite books would be Gulag Archipelago, second perhaps Ivan Denisovich, or perhaps some of the essays.

If you like Solzhenitsyn the writer first and foremost, your favorite books would be Cancer Ward or First Circle.

If you like both, you might like just about everything the man wrote. I think this fits me, although I'm thinking my appreciation of Solzhenitsyn the writer is greater than Solzhenitsyn the prophet, since I've read First Circle and Cancer Ward more often than any of the others.

But only two facets? What about Solzhenitsyn the poet? Not nearly as well known in English, (and poetry is always the hardest to translate).