Ivan Konevskoi

Joan Delaney Grossman (Ph.D. Harvard University) is Professor Emerita of Slavic Languages and Literatures at University of California at Berkeley. Her publications include Edgar Allan Poe in Russia, 1973; Valery Bryusov and the Riddle of Russian Decadence, 1984; co edited Creating Life, with Irina Paperno,1994 and William James in Russian Culture, with Ruth Rischin, 2003.

• Key to frequently used abbreviationsIntroductionChapter 1: The Drive for LifeChapter 2: Chronicle of My TravelsChapter 3: A Love Affair with the World’s WatersChapter 4: Two MeetingsChapter 5: “Dreams and Meditations”Chapter 6: The Power of the WordChapter 7: “Abolishing Death” (1)Chapter 8: Finland, Novgorod, St PetersburgChapter 9: Abolishing DeathAfterword

“Ivan Konevskoi (1877-1901) strove throughout his tragically brief earthly life to "abolish death" by penetrating the mystic core of the universe. His earthly survival has now been notably enhanced by Joan Grossman's splendid book, a comprehensive account of the poet's life, thought, and accomplishments. Deeply sympathetic but always clear-eyed and sensible, Grossman's narrative is exhaustively researched but never pedantic, engagingly written and rich in illuminations derived from the author's lifelong study of Russian poetry, especially of the Symbolist era.”