My Esenin: Anatomy of a Folktale: An emotional journey into the poetic realm of Russia’s most Russian poet

The talk of the ‘Russian soul’ and ‘understanding’ the Russians has been around long enough to make one’s mouth sore. For the Russians themselves, the quest for own identity has never been more topical, with Russian national pride still healing after the derogation of the ‘freewheeling ‘90s. Yet no one has been able to give a concise answer to either what the phenomenon is, or why at all anyone would care to burden their minds with it. My Esenin: Anatomy of a Folktale sets the counter to zero in its bid to give a graphic answer to the question, instead of theorising about it. And this is where Sergei Esenin’s persona comes into play. Esenin, whom Boris Pasternak once likened to a character in a folktale of his own life, is the key to understanding the elusive Russian spirit as he spills his heart out in that exuberant, authentic, ‘lump-in-the-throat’ verse, lovingly selected, translated and interpreted by the novice writer. My Esenin: Anatomy of a Folktale is Olga’s debut work and an ingenious story of her life-long special relationship with Russian literature in general and Sergei Esenin’s poetic legacy in particular, told in a simple yet engaging way. The book includes 46 of Esenin’s signature poems and is rich with historical facts and cultural cross-references throughout. There was never a better time to immerse in Russian poetry with these high-quality translations preserving the authentic style and rhythm of Esenin’s trademark melodic verse. —- ISBN: 9781527238381