Roman talks with José Vergara about Joyce's influence on Soviet and post-Soviet Russian literature. We talk literary heritage, the dangers of translating Ulysses under Stalin, the birth of Social Realism (and its ugly stepsister, Capitalist Primitivism), the schizophrenic nature of the late Soviet period, émigré writing, and Joyce's continued influence on contemporary Russian writers. A fascinating talk that sheds much light on both Joyce and Russian lit.
Writers discussed include: Yury Olesha, Vladimir Nabokov, Andrei Bitov, Sasha Sokolov, and Mikhail Shishkin (cameos of sorts by Victor Pelevin and William Gaddis).  
José's book, "All future plunges to the past : James Joyce in Russian literature," was published by Cornell University Press in 2021. https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501759901/all-future-plunges-to-the-past/

James Joyce in Russian Literature - Episode No. 45

Is it common practice to lie in a memoir? Not for accomplished memoirists, according to Mary Karr. The Art of Memoir, in part a how-to book, distills 30 years of teaching and writing memoir.
    


Mary Karr: The Art of Memoir

Being a serious reader brings many joys, but also nagging anxieties: Should I be reading a different book? Should I read more classic lit instead of contemporary fiction? Is it problem that I read multiple books at once? Do I abandon books too frequently? Are my online activities ruining my attention span and making me jealous of others and their prodigious reading habits?...Music: “Sunday Smooth" by Scott Buckley, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Anxiety & the Reading Life - Episode No. 19

Feeling Bookish Podcast focuses on maximalist, innovative novels and literature in translation. Periodic interviews with critics, writers and translators. Hosted by Roman Tsivkin and Robert Fay. Produced by Heston Hoffman. Email: robertfay23 at gmail

Anxiety & the Reading Life - Episode No. 19

Feeling Bookish Podcast

Related tracks