Joseph Brodsky and the Baroque

MacFadyen shows that the works of John Donne, the existential philosophy of Kierkegaard and Sestov, and the cities of St Petersburg and Venice inspired in Brodsky a fundamentally Baroque evolution. He provides a compelling and comprehensive examination of Brodsky's poetry and prose in a fascinating overview of some problems of post-soviet aesthetics. The book concludes with a reassessment of Brodsky's final role, that of cross-cultural, bilingual essayist. Joseph Brodsky and the Baroque will appeal to students and scholars of Russian literature as well as the growing body of Brodsky's admirers.

David MacFadyen is assistant professor of Russian studies, Dalhousie University.