The Song of Igor's Campaign

The author of Lolita translates the celebrated, medieval epic Russian poem about a doomed campaign led by Prince Igor Sviatoslavich the Brave.

A chivalric expedition is undertaken in the late twelfth century by a minor prince in the land of Rus' to defeat, against overwhelming odds, a powerful alliance in a neighboring territory. The anonymous poet who chronicled this adventure packed unprecedented metaphorical agility, keenness of observation, and fascinating imagery into the lean and powe...