Jim Curtis

I was born in 1940, and grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, known the world over as the hometown of Elvis Presley, and had the unforgettable experience of seeing the King of Rock and Roll live in 1956. I received my BA from Vanderbilt University with a major in German in 1958, and received my PhD in Russian literature from Columbia University in 1968. I was Professor of Russian at the University of Missouri-Columbia from 1968 to 1999. I am now Professor Emeritus and live in the Kendal Retirement Community in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, with my wife Donna.

But those bare facts only suggest the larger story, and the great cause of my life, which is to build bridges between regions and cultures. I grew up in the South, went to graduate school in the North and lived for a long time in the Midwest. I’m an American who speaks Russian, and have a lifelong commitment to Russia and things Russian. I have devoted a great deal of effort as a teacher and as a scholar to promoting greater understanding between Russia and America. As one example of that effort, I can mention the course that I developed and taught at the University of Missouri, “Russia and America as Comparative Civilizations.”

So far, my career sounds like a fairly representative academic career. But I have never been able to forget the South, and what it represents, and forget Elvis, and what he represents. That is why in addition to building bridges between regions (Russia and America) I am also committed to building bridges between high culture (the Russian novels) and popular culture (rock and roll).

I acknowledge that this is an unusual combination of interests but all I can say is that I didn’t plan it this way. The best way I can explain it is to say that as a Buddhist, I believe that it is my karma to build bridges between regions—to bring together the South and the North, Russia and America—and to build bridges between high culture and popular culture—to bring together Russian novels and rock and roll.