Presentation of Giorgio Baffo’s book "Selected Erotic Poems," translated by Shlomo Krol, 18+

Giorgio Baffo (1694–1768) was a respected Venetian senator, but posterity remembers him not for that, but for his erotic poems in the Venetian dialect—utterly indecent and extremely funny. This poet was a striking representative of the 18th-century libertine movement, which advocated freethinking and sexual freedom. He stands alongside such figures as his younger friend Giacomo Casanova; the Frenchmen Alexis Piron and the Marquis de Sade; the Englishmen John Wilmot and Aphra Behn; and Ivan Barkov in Russia. Giorgio Baffo’s poems are at once utterly obscene and elegant: they may shock, but they often also bring a smile.

The translation of this outrageous classic was made by Shlomo Krol, a classical philologist, poet, and master of literary translation. He graduated from Saint Petersburg State University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Krol is known for his translations of medieval and Renaissance poetry from Hebrew, Italian, and Latin, including works by Judah Halevi and Immanuel the Roman.

In working with Baffo’s legacy, the translator achieved a rare philological feat: virtuously conveying the ornate humor, rhythm, eroticism, and lightness of the original Venetian dialect.

Admission is free; purchasing books is encouraged!