the river of time

Gavrila Derzhavin (1743–1816) is generally considered to be one of the founders of modern Russian literature, ushering Russia into the greater European tradition. The so-called slate ode was the last poem he completed. (updated 10/2021)

James Stotts is a poet and translator at work on an anthology of the Russian masters (from Pushkin and Fet, through Mariengof, Vaginov, Mandelstam, Gumilev, Esenin, and Tsvetaeva, to Brodsky and Ryzhii) in formal translations and abusive studies. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with his wife and son, and is a bartender in Cambridge. (updated 4/2010)