Igor-Severyanin (1887-1941) is an iconic name of the Silver Age, a symbol of outrageousness, play, courage: “Plunge a corkscrew into the elasticity of the cork, - / And the gaze of women will not be timid!” With these lines, cursed by the great Leo Tolstoy, the poet’s scandalous fame began, and with the release of the collection “The Thunder-Boiling Cup” (1913), the fifth anniversary of unprecedented northern glory began, crowning him with the title “king of poets” (1918). However, soon the “king” found himself in exile, where his festive talent began to fade. Vladimir Bondarenko challenges this traditional view of the poet’s fate, proving that the true Northerner emerged precisely in emigration, and his best collection is “Medallions” (1934). Collecting facts, the author traveled to many of the poet’s places of residence - from Cherepovets villages and Estonian manors to Yugoslavia and China, and attracted many letters, memories, and documents. This biography is charged with controversy. Was Igor the Severyanin as “uneducated” on his roaring fifth birthday as the author believes? Does a poet need a “diploma”? What is poetry: verses inspired by heady audacity, dispersed into aphorisms, or lines sobered by age?.. In this polemic, which revives the poet, inscribing his work into today's themes, lies the main pathos of the book.