March 9, 2008 (REVISED March 12, 2008) The Library of Congress and NEA to Host an Evening of Russian Poetry, April 7

The Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) will jointly host an evening of Russian poetry on April 7, featuring Evgeny Bunimovich, Elena Fanailova and Yuli Gugolev. The poets will read their work in Russian, followed by a reading of English translations by Bill O’Brien, director of theater and musical theater at NEA. Afterward, the poets will participate in a question-and-answer session moderated by NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. The program will start at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 7, in the Mumford Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building at the Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; no reservations are needed. Bunimovich is the editor of a new bilingual book titled “Contemporary Russian Poetry, An Anthology.” Fanailova and Gugolev, the two poets with whom he will share the stage, are included in his book. The evening event is a celebration of the anthology’s publication by Dalkey Archive Press. A book signing will follow the poetry reading. Bunimovich is a poet from Moscow whose works include “Natural Selection” (2001) and “Poems” (1994). He has been a columnist for The New Gazette since 1966. He also has served as president of the Moscow International Poetry Biennial. Fanailova is the author of four books of poetry. Her most recent volume is “The Russian Version” (2006), which contains poetry and prose. An English translation is forthcoming from Zephyr Press in June 2008. Fanailova is a former doctor and teacher who started working in radio in 1995. She now hosts a radio program called “Far from Moscow.” Gugolev is the author of two books of poetry, “Official Instructions” (2006) and “Complete Works” (2000). Gugolev participated in the Open World Cultural Leaders Program in 2004. He works for the International Commission of the Red Cross in the Russian Federation. The Library’s Poetry and Literature Center, home of the U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, is jointly hosting the event with NEA. For more information about the center and related events, visit www.loc.gov/poetry/. The poetry reading is part of a larger project initiated by NEA and the Foundation for Creative Projects, a Russian organization, to produce a literary exchange of the contemporary poetry from each country through bilingual anthologies and readings.