Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (1932-2017), who gained worldwide fame more than half a century ago, was not offended by indifference until the end of his days - he inspired admiration in some, astonishment in others, and irritation in others: «I am different - I am both hardworking and idle. I am both purposeful and purposeless…» Many of his lines have become proverbs («A poet in Russia is more than a poet,» «New times have come. New names have risen,» «No matter how you twist and turn it, Nefertiti exists…» etc.), many songs with his lyrics are considered folk («Will the wind drop an alder earring in the palms…», «The river is running, dissolving in the fog…»), many of his works have been adapted for theater performances and films, and he himself was not a stranger to cinema as a screenwriter, actor, and director. Ilya Falikov, a well-known poet, prose writer, and essayist, presents to readers a risky and captivating work in which he attempts to decipher the phenomenon known as «Yevtushenko». This book is not a panegyric, nor a pamphlet, nor a dry biography. It is an epic view of the turbulent 20th century, reflected perhaps most fully, expressively, and controversially in the works and in the very life of Yevgeny Yevtushenko. In short, before you is a poet as he is - with his unprecedented fame and «the solitude of all loyalties most loyal,» with all friendships and breakups, loves and betrayals, and most importantly - with immortal poems.
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