Description: A poet, scholar, philosopher, religious thinker, translator, and teacher, Viacheslav Ivanov (1866-1949) was one of the most extraordinary figures of Russia's tumultuous twentieth century. This definitive biography of Ivanov tells the full story of his life and work amid the cataclysmic events of his time.
Review Quotes: A Symbolist life is lived on many levels, but always from the real to the more real. Viacheslav Ivanov, charismatic poet and classical scholar, fit his ideas to a series of regimes, from late-Tsarist to Bolshevik to Roman Catholic. Michael Wachtel has tracked this life from the bottom up, year by year across several countries and languages, hiding none of the scandals while harnessing all the creative energy. A magnificent lens on loss and mythopoetic transcendence.--Caryl Emerson, author of The Cambridge Introduction to Russian Literature