Author Talk: Robert Coles | “Pursuing Alexander Pushkin, A Memoir” 

Pursuing Alexander Pushkin is the story of a scholar/poet whose life and work was shaped significantly by the Russian writer, Alexander Pushkin. Robert Coles’ memoir begins with his student years at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania where he discovered Pushkin during the Black Arts Movement in the early 1970s. Coles describes how Pushkin’s African race pride and literary achievements influenced his own work and gave him much-needed inspiration to keep writing. Thereafter, Coles details how Pushkin, despite his Russian background, shares an existential consciousness with African American people. Eventually this led Coles to travel to Russia, numerous times, to trace this connection further. 

“Pursuing Alexander Pushkin is an inspiring memoir that beautifully intertwines scholarship, poetry, and personal discovery. Robert Coles masterfully explores Pushkin’s influence on his life, bridging African American identity and Russian literature. His journey, from discovering Pushkin to teaching his work, makes for a compelling and thought-provoking read.”

Dr. Robert Coles 

Robert Coles obtained his PhD in American Literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1979. He has taught African American Literature at various colleges and universities in the US. His Pushkin scholarly work began at Hampshire College, Massachusetts, in the early 1990s and continued until 2009 when he retired to focus on additional Pushkin ventures. Coles is also a poet and has published over one hundred poems in periodicals, magazines, and anthologies.

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