Based in part on archival materials, Russian Poet/Soviet Jew examines the short and brilliant career of Eduard Bagritskii (1895-1934), a major Russian poet of Jewish origin. Shrayer provides a short biography, an examination of the problems of Jewish identity and Jewish self-hatred, and interviews with contemporary leaders of Russian ultra-nationalism to explore Bagritskii's Russian/Jewish dual identity. The book also includes the first English-language translations of Bagritskii's major works, along with rare archival photographs documenting the trajectory of his life and career.
Maxim D. Shrayer (www.shrayer.com) was born in Moscow in 1967 and immigrated to the United States in 1987. He is professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies at Boston College. Among Shrayer's books are the critical studies "The World of Nabokov's Stories" and "Russian Poet/Soviet Jew," the literary memoir "Waiting for America: A Story of Emigration," and collection of stories "Yom Kippur in Amsterdam." A bilingual author and translator, Shrayer won a 2007 National Jewish Book Award for his "Anthology of Jewish-Russian Literature." He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.
To view a short video about Maxim D. Shrayer's "Waiting for America," go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A26S5YdBEMc
To view a short video about Maxim D. Shrayer's "Yom Kippur in Masterdam," go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65V79GCssdc
To watch Maxim D. Shrayer's recent reading from and discussion of "Yom Kippur in Amsterdam," go to: http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/shrayer1/
