Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Andrey Kuzmichev

Andrey was born in Moscow but now lives in the U.S. He has studied nuclear physics and biomedical research. Science writing partly fulfills his lifelong aspiration to become a writer. His prime inspiration: Dostoyevsky,

“Duty Free” portrays a poet returning to Moscow for a visit. He has a strange case of writer’s block: a poem he has in mind keeps escaping him, as though it were words in a dream.

The poet’s experience integrates two literary precedents in different ways: a medieval legend and Coleridge’s account of the effect that “the person from Porlock” had on the poem Kubla Khan. A catastrophe is needed to bring the poet in contact with his muse.

Andrey Kuzmichev’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Andrey. We hope to hear from you again soon and often!