PROLOGUES: Conversations on Politics and the Arts Between a
Russian and an American.
With Gary Corseri and Victor Postnikov
Round One, July and August, 2013
Victor Postnikov: Hi Gary. " Hope everything is fine with you!
Gary Corseri: Hello Victor. "Nice to hear from you! Welcome back from your
vacation! I hope you are rejuvenated! How was your trip to the Black Sea?
VP: It really
improved my health! Headaches and heartaches are gone! Blood pressure is
normal. " The sea was warm and inviting. The
only problem is people (pollution). But I lived as a hermit, communicating
mostly with spiders and scolopendras. (They are good to me!) Also, the problem
is getting there. It's a nuisance -- 18 hours on a stuffy train from Kiev, and
then a 90 minute bus ride. "
GC: I suppose it was
good to get out of Kiev?
VP: Living here
becomes even more problematic! The ceaseless construction and noise make me
mad! Nowhere to hide! Seems like my headaches are about to return!
GC: I'm glad to hear
the Black Sea was therapeutic for you... but sad to hear about your headaches
and other problems in Kiev.
Of course, I was only there about 8
days last year", so I don't have a very good sense of the city's daily life! I
did feel it was a BUSY place. It almost seemed like there were at least 2
Kievs--one a more spiritual, laid-back place of old, ubiquitous
Eastern-Orthodox churches, with gold-plated dones, and very pleasant parks; and
then, another city of nouveau riche racing by in their Mercedes and BMW
limousines! There were "average" people and then there were
"fast women"--prostitutes, probably--and young guys with too much
money thanks to political connections, etc. The new post-Soviet reality of
oligarchs and the struggling working class! No wonder you have headaches!
VP: Kiev has
changed a lot. " I don't recognise it any more! Once it was a tranquil city
with lots of parks and boulevards, life was slow. We called it "Big Village."
Now, it's booming with construction,
SUVs of the nouveau riches have flooded the streets (and sidewalks). It's hard
to walk on the streets!
But" i t seems you
are ready to talk politics again!
GC: I never tire of
it!
VP: And Literature
and the Arts?
GC: That, too!
VP: Shall we
continue where we left off? A 2 nd "Prologues" or "Poets' Talk"?
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