“Cloud in Pants:” A Video-Poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky in Russian and English (with Vadim Astrakhan)
Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia 19 University Place, 2nd Floor, New York CityIn 1915 Vladimir Mayakovsky shocked the Russian poetry scene with his epic poem “Cloud in Pants.” One hundred years later Vadim Astrakhan has not only translated the poem into English in his trademark “modernizing / universalizing” fashion, but also put it on film. In this film he recites the poem in both Russian and English against a vibrant and unique visual background that…