Frances Laird has long been interested in the life and work of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Laird studied at Moscow State University and earned a master’s degree in Russian lan...voir plusFrances Laird has long been interested in the life and work of the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Laird studied at Moscow State University and earned a master’s degree in Russian language and literature from Bryn Mawr College. There her study of translation encouraged her to write Swan Songs: Akhmatova and Gumilev, an exploration through their poetry of the passionate and tragic relationship of Akhmatova and Nikolai Gumilev. Waiting for the Muse follows the changing appearance of the Muse, the embodiment of creative inspiration, in Akhmatova’s poetry. Laird is now working on a translation of Akhmatova’s masterpiece, Poem Without the Hero. She remains committed to bringing Akhmatova’s poetry in as faithful translation as possible to a wider English-speaking readership.voir moins