Jon Kyst
DenmarkEarly Life and Education
Lars Erik Kvist was born in Denmark and pursued his academic studies at the University of Copenhagen. He earned a Bachelor's degree in 1993, a Master's degree in 1996, and a Ph.D. in 2004, specializing in Russian and English philology.
Academic Career
After completing his studies, Kvist held internships at the University of St. Petersburg and the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. Upon returning to Denmark, he commenced his role as the head of the Russo-Danish Translation Seminar at the University of Copenhagen in 1995. Additionally, he developed and taught the university course, "Russian Literature in Cultural Context."
Literary Studies
Kvist's doctoral dissertation focused on the work of Russian-American poet Joseph Brodsky, entitled "Brodsky's Bilingualism: Practice and Prehistory." He continued his research on Brodsky and edited a special section for the journal "Novoye Literaturnoye Obozreniye" in 2004, which included an essay of his own titled "Name-dropping: On a Poetic-Rhetorical Device in the Work of Joseph Brodsky."
Translation Work
Alongside his academic activities, Kvist works as a simultaneous interpreter and a translator of literary works. Notably, he translated a collection of contemporary Russian poetry entitled "Verden er en sum af fakta—en sitren—en uforklarlig sk?lven" (2006), featuring poets such as Arkady Dragomoshchenko, Aleksandr Ilianen, Aleksandr Skidan, and Elena Schwartz.
Other Interests
Beyond his academic pursuits and translation work, Kvist has also studied the works of Russian authors such as Andrei Bitov (essay: "Andrei Bitov's 'Pushkin House'--A Petersburg Text") and Aleksandr Skidan (conference paper: "The Poetry of Aleksandr Skidan").
