Events/Courses - Event View

When Mick Jagger read Mikhail Bulgakov’s magnum opus, it inspired him to compose “Sympathy for the Devil.” The Rolling Stones, however, are only one of at least 35 rock bands and innumerable other artists who have paid homage to The Master and Margarita. Never published during Bulgakov’s lifetime, the novel burst onto the English-speaking world in 1967, with Mirra Ginsburg’s translation (That’s the version we’ll use; look for a giant black cat on the cover). Artfully weaving together four distinct strands — Moscow under Stalin, a band of infernal visitors, the lovers Master and Margarita, and Jesus before Pontius Pilate — Bulgakov also manages to rework the Faust legend. Yet everything hangs together in a kaleidoscope that alternately features the comedy, tragedy, and absurdity of the human condition.

Instructor Michelle Miller visited Maine seasonally for decades until the pandemic changed life as she and her husband knew it. Relocation to Owls Head has brought good things to both of them, and one of the gifts Michelle most enjoys is her involvement with Coastal Senior College. She first encountered Bulgakov’s magical masterpiece as a Comparative Literature (French and Russian) undergraduate at Hiram College, then taught it as a high-school AP English Lit and Comp teacher in Houston, in a unit devoted to versions of the Faust legend. Now, she is eager to revisit the novel with lifelong learners who are curious about world literature and enjoy discussing challenging works.