A Literary Giant Poem by Alexander Shaumyan

He wore a grey overcoat,
A black fur cap with earflaps,
Felt boots and galoshes,
Addressing a large crowd
Of young writers in Flint,
Michigan, declaring
With a thick Russian accent:

'You, my American comrades,
What do you know about
Chekhov or Dostoyesvsky?
You who grew up with your
Abercrombie & Fitch,
Victoria's Secret Bras and
Fake Hollywood Orgasms,
And your thousand channels
Of mindless rubbish-
What do you know about
Passion and soul? '

And he looked around him,
Seeing the vacant smiles
Of his young audience,
Where some guy shouted:
'Peace out, dude, it's all good! '
And he looked straight into
His eyes, saying:
'See what I mean! This whole
Place is a joke and this
University is a joke! '
And then he said in Russian:
'Chyort poberi! ' leaving the stage
With his latest book under
His arm entitled
'Love in the Time of Futility, '
Which has won him
The Nobel Prize in Literature…

And he never set his foot
In that godforsaken place
Ever again.


May 25,2008