One of the pillars of 19th-century Russian literature, alongside iconic figures such as Gogol, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy, Ivan Turgenev began his writing career as a poet, gaining great recognition and fame in this field. The titular piece of this collection, Parasha, which brought the young writer to the attention of the influential critic Vissarion Belinsky and defined his reputation, is a humorous narrative poem in the vein of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin or Lermontov's Sasha, describing the story of a young woman's marriage to her foolish and unromantic neighbor and their life after marriage, which is rather mediocre but also happy. This volume also includes four other narrative poems by Turgenev – Andre, A Conversation, The Landowner, and The Village Priest – all showcasing the author's early interest in everyday stories of Russian life and all highlighting the wit and stylistic ease we have come to associate with his more famous prose works.