Visiting writer Igor KARAULOV was born in Moscow in 1966, and began writing poems at the age of four. In 1988, he graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in Geography, but it was during his student years that he joined the literary workshop of the Moscow poet Olga Chugai, where he met poets like Denis Novikov and Filipp Nikolaev. He has been a journalist and is presently a translator for an international law firm. His first book of poetry, A Surge, came out in 2003, followed by Sellers of Spices in 2006. His poetry has appeared in literary magazines including Znamya, Noviy Mir, and Vozdukh. He participates courtesy of the Open World Cultural Leaders Program.