2 pm Tuesday, December 15 at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 1200 Old Pecos Trail

Russian Lit in Bite-Sized Pieces: Nikolai Gogol

Professor Randy Perazzini leads a series of discussions focusing on short fiction from Russia’s Golden Age, setting the stage with a brief description of the historical and biographical contexts of the work. Gogol’s “Petersburg Tales" expose the link between this surreal city and the psychology of more everyday, downtrodden people living within its spell and under the stifling rigidity of autocracy. These stories are funny and sad, weird, realistic and fantastical. Gogol’s unique voice and vision influenced everyone and changed the landscape of Russian literature.

Randy Perazzini holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Cornell University and has taught for 27 years, primarily in Mexico City, at St. John’s College, and for Renesan, most recently offering “Aeschylus & O'Neill in Conversation.”