In "Bad" With the Count: The Poetaster as a Cultural Phenomenon

Professor Ilya Vinitsky (Princeton) presents his unconventional book The Graphomaniac: A Literary-Historical Discussion of Count Dmitry Khvostov (Northwestern University Press) in English translation by Jamie McGavran (Kenyon College).

Expect a brief rant about the gripping (and slightly ridiculous) phenomenon of graphomania, a dramatic recitation of some truly terrible poetry, and a sneak peek from the book—followed by a Q&A, where no question is too strange, but some answers might be.

Forlorn, belittled, and derided,
O Sage, O Fool, O Lord, O Worm,
Your soul remains Apollo-guided:
It soars and sparkles, plump and firm,
Both in the sleepy constellation
And in the fury of the sea—
A star of decolonization
Of Pushkin, Rus, and Poésie!