Sochi Delirium Poems

An unyielding fever of 103, the Sochi Olympics, and a state of inspirational semidelirium came together as Vladimir Azarov sat in front of his television, images swirled in his mind like a waltzing kaleidoscope. Memories from decades past were triggered as the Pussy Riot girls were being whipped by Cossacks. Marilyn Monroe of Some Like It Hot became his muse while he composed recollections: his first trip to Sochi in 1962; sitting with Henry Moore at his home in Much Haddam; discussing verisimilitudes with Pasolini, art with Frank O’Hara, film and acting with Leni Riefenstahl; shock at terrorists killing Israelis in Munich. As the 2014 Games ended, his fever abated. This remarkable book of poems arose from those two weeks.

Vladimir Azarov is a Russian architect, poet, and translator. He is the author of the memoir Mongolian Études, and his poetry collections include Broken Pastries, Dinner with Catherine the Great, Imitation, The Kiss from Mary Pickford: Cinematic Poems, Night Out, Of Life & Other Small Sacrifices, Seven Lives, and Voices in Dialogue: Dramatic Poems. He lives in Toronto.