Portrait of the poet: 1978-1996 : Joseph Brodsky

Marianna Volkov's black-and-white photo album is the first collection of portraits of one poet by a single photographer in the history of Russian culture. The book consists of seven sections, each of which includes a text by the literary critic Alexander Genis: "44 Morton"; "The Poetry Teacher"; "The Face"; "Dialogue"; "Russian House, New York, April 21, 1992"; "The Last Years"; "Farewells". More than 230 photographs published here cover a period of 18 years (1978-1996). They present the great poet and Nobel Laureate in a wide range of situations: on the streets of New York; at home; at Columbia University where he taught; at literary evenings, both his own and others'; on the banks of the Hudson river; at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine; alone and in the crowd. Sergei Dovlatov once wrote: "I can't imagine how Marianna Volkov manages to get Brodsky to pose or to forget her presence. These portraits are wonderful - Brodsky is so alive in them." The album is introduced by Professor Lev Loseff (Dartmouth College), and ends with Marianna Volkov's shorts essay, "My Brodsky."