Paradise Lost: Emigration: An Attempt at a Self-Portrait

Petr Vail

Aleksandr Genis

1983

There is nothing more terrible than dreams come true. […]

The first streets of New York. Primitive prefab apartment houses. Fire escapes down the front. The capital of the world is immediately associated with Rostov-on-Don, the ugliest city in the USSR. Geography expands. The ruins of the South Bronx, like Stalingrad after the eponymous battle…

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Creator Bio

Petr Vail

1949–2009

Born in Riga, Petr Vail graduated from the Moscow Polygraphic Institute and immigrated to the United States in 1977. A broadcaster and journalist, Vail worked for Radio Liberty as a reporter, and also wrote about Russian literature.

Creator Bio

Aleksandr Genis

b. 1953

Born in Latvia, Aleksandr Genis immigrated to the United States in 1977, where he worked for Radio Liberty. His books, some of which were co-written with Petr Vail, explore postmodernism, Russian literature, and his impressions of the United States.

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