Not everyone knows that the famous Russian prose writer, playwright and publicist Yuri Polyakov made his debut in literature in 1974 as a subtle and original poet, then releasing several books of lyrics. Subsequently, best-selling novels, poignant articles and plays that drew full houses obscured his poetry from readers, although the author of “Apothegeus” and “The Little Goat in Milk” never stopped writing poetry. The book “Times of Life” is unique in its own way; it is the first separate edition of selected poems by Yuri Polyakov, written over almost half a century. In addition to well-known texts, the collection also includes previously never published poems by the author, including bold satirical and erotic cycles. In addition, the book includes: a new version of the famous memoir essay “How I Was a Poet”, articles about poetry and memories of such masters of Russian verse as V. Sokolov, A. Dementyev, E. Evtushenko, N. Dmitriev and others.< /p>