Prokushev, Yuri. Sergei Yesenin: The Man, the Verse, the Age, 1979. In English.

Prokushev, Yuri.
Sergei Yesenin: The Man, the Verse, the Age.
Moscow : Progress Publishers, 1979.
309 pp. : ill. ; 21 cm. Hardcover in dust jacket. In English. 

This 1979 monograph is a significant scholarly work by the distinguished Soviet literary critic and Professor Yuri Prokushev, specifically prepared for an international audience. Published by Progress Publishers, this volume offers a comprehensive English-language exploration of the life and legacy of Sergei Yesenin, one of Russia’s most beloved and enduringly popular poets. Prokushev, recognized as a preeminent authority on Yesenin’s biography, skillfully intertwines the poet's lyrical output with the tumultuous historical backdrop of early 20th-century Russia. The text provides a deep dive into the internal logic of Yesenin's poetic evolution, including the arrangement of his early rural "peasant" verses, his involvement with the Imaginist movement, and the tragic internal conflicts that defined his final years during the revolutionary era.
The book addresses the "Yesenin enigma"—the unique cultural phenomenon where the poet's vivid imagery of the Russian countryside and his "hooligan" persona resonated across all social strata. Across 309 pages, Prokushev analyzes the structural beauty of Yesenin’s metaphors and provides vital context for his complex relationships, including his famous marriage to Isadora Duncan. This 21 cm hardcover edition, preserved with its original dust jacket, serves as an essential primary source for English-speaking readers and scholars of the Silver Age. It reflects the peak of Soviet literary scholarship, aiming to present Yesenin not merely as a tragic figure, but as a sophisticated master of the Russian language whose verse captured the very soul of an age in transition.