The writers spoke last night about distance allowing a truer portrayal of their world. They might place their narrative in the near future, or back in history
And so I gained a truer understanding of my compulsion to write about Russia...
Went to last night's Squaring the Circle event at the Free Word in Farringdon. Five Russian Debut prize winners (Alisa Ganieva, Alexander Gritsenko, Arslan Khasavov, Polina Klyukina and Victor Puchkov) were there with Russian Booker winner Olga Slavnikova and Glas publisher Natasha Perova. The young winners were delightful, excited to be on their first visit to the UK
This is one of the twentieth century's most powerful and illuminating books, brilliantly translated and annotated by Robert Chandler.
Besides the beauty of his writing, Grossman's strength lies in his gentleness. He portrays humanity at its most vicious while asking for understanding - even for those who betrayed their comrades during the terror. Judge not...
Robert Chandler spoke at Pushkin House last night on translating Vasily Grossman. There was discussion on why it took so long for Grossman to be recognised both in the west and in Russia.
Hoorah for Academia Rossica. They are creating a website (www.booksfromrussia.ru - live from May) linking Russian authors and publishers with UK translators (and readers).
I am translating The President of Kazakhstan, Nursulatan Nazarbayev's book on questions of Kazakh independence and nationhood. One of the great advantages of Russian is that it opens doors onto other cultures that use Russian as a second or state language.
On January 27th , to mark the 66th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad, Cine Lumiere screened the British premiere of Alexander Buravsky’s Leningrad.
The film has already been released in Russia (including an extra 15 minutes of material that the director assumed a western audience would not understand).
The salad is called 'shuba' ie overcoat (for the fish). This is my veggie adaptation
4 beetroots
3 largish potatoes
4 large carrots
small red onion
bunch dill
several dill pickles
can of peas
250 grammes cheese (otherwise chopped prawns or smoked fish eg herring)
jar of mayo
salt
chopped garlic if liked
vary the quantities according to taste
Watched first UK screening of Yulia, a film by Coppola Productions about the Ukrainian Prime Minister, last night.
(Director Jakov Sedlar)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque lacus sapien, hendrerit ut blandit ac, luctus eu mauris. Aenean id pellentesque neque. Pellentesque eget magna a ligula porttitor ultricies quis sit amet dolor.
