For Russian poets Ovid was an archetypal exile through whom they interpreted their own complex relationship with their motherland. This talk unearths some of the complex contexts surrounding the narrative of exile in three Russian poets (Pushkin, Mandelshtam, Brodsky) by delving into the archaeology of the national poetic memory as it is reflected in the cultural poetics of each poet.
Zara M. Torlone received her B.A. in Classical Philology from Moscow University and M.A., M. Phil, and Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York. Before joining the faculty of Miami University in 2000, she taught at Bard College. Her main research interest is the reception of classics in Russian literature. She is the author of numerous articles, edited volumes and monographs, including Vergil in Russia: National Identity and Classical Reception, which came out with the Oxford University Press in 2015. The book addresses the role of Vergil's literary legacy in the formation of Russian national and literary identity from the 18th century to the present day.