Eugene Onegin: The Greatest Novel in Verse in English. What is it? Why is it so Worth Bothering with?

Andrew Barker - The University of Hong Kong (https://english.hku.hk/people/Affiliates/288/Dr_Andrew_Barker)

THIS IS AN IN-PERSON ONLY EVENT.

Abstract

The English speaker approaching Eugene Onegin for the first time has over a dozen translations to choose from. In this talk I will argue that the chosen translation will have a huge impact on appreciation of the poem, and that the stanza Pushkin created to tell his verse novel within has been drastically under-utilized in English poetry since the first completed metrical and rhymed translations were achieved. The talk is the work of a fan of the poem, and an attempt to increase the work's popularity among poetry enthusiasts through an analysis of the delights of a consistent structure in the novel length poem.

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Biography

Dr. Andrew Barker holds a PhD in American Literature, an MA in Anglo/Irish Literature and a BA (Hons) in English Literature. He has taught over twenty different literature courses at Hong Kong University, Lingnan University, Baptist University and for HKU SPACE. His interests include the poetry of Yeats and Heaney, twentieth-century American Literature, the plays of Martin McDonagh, the novels of David Mitchell and Zadie Smith, and the films of Christopher Nolan. He also pays close attention to literature written in and on Hong Kong, and is a widely-published poet. Examples of his work and lectures can be found at https://www.youtube.com/c/mycroftlectures-andrewbarkerpoetry

 

THIS IS AN IN-PERSON ONLY EVENT.