E-Books →The Man Who Brought Brodsky into English Conversations with George L. Kline

Kline translated more of Brodsky's poems than any other single person, with the exception of Brodsky himself. The Bryn Mawr philosophy professor and Slavic scholar was a modest and retiring man, but on occasion he could be as forthright and adamant as Brodsky himself. "Akhmatova discovered Brodsky for Russia, but I discovered him for the West," he claimed.
Kline's interviews with author Cynthia L. Haven before his death in 2014 include a description of his first encounter with Brodsky, the KGB interrogations triggered by their friendship, Brodsky's emigration, and the camaraderie and conflict over translation. When Kline called Brodsky in London to congratulate him for the Nobel, the grateful poet responded, "And congratulations to you, too, George!"
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