Randi 
Today’s poem was actually published! The e-zine Quantum Fairy Tales included it in their Winter 2016 issue. BUT, alas, that issue (with the entire e-zine, it appears) is now little more than a broken link. For that reason I expect no one will mind if I re-post “Cream of Fool Ivan: A Recipe” right here. >=) … Read more
Okay, so, whatever our differences may be, Alexander Pushkin and I have at least this one thing in common: our favorite season is fall. That is, осень, or osen’, in Russian. Let Tyutchev have his spring … what’s not to love about the leaves turning gold, red, and orange — the air turning crisp and … Read more
Something I really love about the Russian language is that states of silence and color can be verbs. For instance, if something is white, you could express it as a static description — it is white — or, more poetically, as an action: it whites. It’s the same with silence. Someone can be silent, or, on the other hand, … Read more
It’s almost fall (aka poetry season), so I thought I’d get the poetic tinder going with an oldie from the archives. This was originally written in 2013, revised multiple times, and then finally put in this form in 2016. The source? Thursday night Adoration at Our Lady of Victory in State College, PA. Adoration of … Read more
YES, FOLKS, I am very-geekily-excited to have discovered that Mikhail Lermontov — the Russian Romantic poet who wrote A Hero of Our Time — composed a free translation of J. W. von Goethe‘s famous short poem “Wandrers Nachtlied II” (aka “Über allen Gipfeln…”)! (Anyone who has taken formal German classes should recognize that!) Goethe’s poem has left … Read more