Celebrating Russian Literature

in English Translation

December 7-11, 2015

New York City | Online

Russian Literature Week! 2015

A celebration of Russian literature in translation featuring distinguished authors, translators, editors, publishers, journalists, filmmakers, broadcasters, & arts, education, and cultural institutions, RUSSIAN LITERATURE WEEK! 2015 promotes translations of Russian literature and new film and online initiatives about Russian literature and book culture.

Read Russia – based in New York, London, and Moscow – was established in 2012 to celebrate Russian literature and Russian book culture. Through innovative programs, projects, and events supporting the English-language translation and publication of Russian works, Read Russia provides international audiences with fresh opportunities to engage – in person, on screen, and online – with Russia’s literary leaders and heritage.

Read Russia’s initiatives include public events, publications, prizes, and productions in the United States, United Kingdom, and at literary events worldwide.

In 2014, Read Russia launched the annual READ RUSSIA PRIZE for the best translation of Russian literature published in English. The 2015 READ RUSSIA PRIZE winner was Vladimir Sharov’s Before and During, translated by Oliver Ready, published by Dedalus Books.

Russian Literature Week! 2015

FEATURED ONLINE FILM

PUSHKIN IS OUR EVERYTHINGWritten, directed and produced by Michael Beckelhimer

Online on VHX, Vimeo, and YouTubepushkinfilm.com

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7

Eugene Vodolazkin on his new novel LAURUS and his research in Old Russian

4:00–5:30 p.mNYU Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia

19 University Place, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10003

Eugene Vodolazkin presents Laurus, his first novel to be translated into English, and talks about the relationship between his personal writing and his research in Old Russian literature, folklore, and medieval history — two worlds he never thought would collide. He will also discuss why interest in medieval history and literature is experiencing a resurgence.

Laurus tells the story of a late-15th-century Russian village healer, devastated by the death of his beloved in childbirth, who embarks on a journey of redemption that brings him face-to-face with a host of eccentric characters and legendary creatures from bizarre medieval bestiaries. The novel won both the Yasnaya Polyana Award and the Big Book Award when it was first published in Russian in 2012, and it has been compared to Umberto Eco’s writing and The Canterbury Tales.

Co-sponsored by the Institute of Literary Translation

Vladimir Sharov (author, BEFORE AND DURING) in conversation with Oliver Ready (translator,

2015 READ RUSSIA PRIZE laureate) and Dmitry Bak (Director, Russia’s State Museum for Literature)

6:00–8:00 p.m.SoHo House

29-35 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10014

A lively discussion about literature, translation, and Russia’s literary traditions between prizewinning novelist Vladimir Sharov, celebrated translator and Oxford University fellow Oliver Ready, and Dmitry Bak, Director of Russia’s State Museum for Literature.

Co-sponsored by the Institute of Literary Translation

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8

THE REAL STORY OF DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Peter Finn, author and Washington Post National Security

Editor, and Marian Schwartz, translator6:00–8:00 p.m.

Poets House 10 River Terrace, New York, NY 10282

An intimate conversation about Boris Pasternak, his prose, and his poetry – between Peter Finn, journalist and the author of The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle over a Forbidden Book, and Marian Schwartz, one of Russian literature’s leading translators.

This event made possible through Poets House’s Literary Partners Program. Co-sponsored by Russia Beyond the Headlines and the Russian Library

THE DOCUMENTARY NOVEL (in Russian)Leonid Yuzefovich interviewed by Vadim Yarmolinets

7:00–8:30 p.m.InfoCommons Lab

Brooklyn Public Library | Central Library10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238

A conversation with Leonid Yuzefovich, one of Russia’s leading authors, led by journalist and fiction writer Vadim Yarmolinets.

Co-sponsored by the Brooklyn Public Library

IN CONVERSATIONEugene Vodolazkin and Lisa Hayden on LAURUS

7:00–9:00 p.m.BookCourt

163 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Eugene Vodolazkin discusses Laurus, his first novel to appear in English, with the book’s translator, Lisa Hayden. The novel won both the Yasnaya Polyana Award and the Big Book Award when it

was first published in Russian in 2012, and it has been compared to Umberto Eco’s writing and The Canterbury Tales.

Co-sponsored by the Institute of Literary Translation, the Bridge Series, and the PEN America Translation Committee

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9

RUSSIA’S 2015 YEAR OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE: A CELEBRATION

Featuring Dmitry Petrov, host, “Polyglot,” Kultura TV6:30–8:30 p.m.

Consulate General of the Russian Federation (Invitation-Only)

A celebration of Russia’s 2015 YEAR OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE and the future of literature in translation – featuring the host of Russia’s television program “Polyglot” and leading stars of the Russian literary world. Reception to follow.

Co-sponsored by the Renova Group of Companies and the Renova Fort Ross Foundation

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10

LITERATURE, LANGUAGE, HISTORY & TIME (in Russian)Vladimir Sharov, Eugene Vodolazkin, and Dmitry Petrov

7:00–8:30 p.m.Dweck Center

Brooklyn Public Library | Central Library10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238

A broad discussion with authors Vladimir Sharov and Eugene Vodolazkin and the host and producer of Kultura TV’s “Polyglot,” Dmitry Petrov. The conversation will touch on changes in language in Sharov and Vodolazkin’s representations of history and time, as well as specific challenges for translators. Moderated by Lisa Hayden, translator and blogger on contemporary Russian fiction.

Co-sponsored by the Brooklyn Public Library

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10

SOLZHENITSYN: THE UNTRANSLATED OEUVRE Peter Constantine, translator; Marian Schwartz, translator

6:00–8:00 p.m.Book Culture

536 West 112th Street, New York, NY 10025

A deep dive into Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s unpublished works – now being translated and soon to appear in print in English.

Co-sponsored by the Kennan Institute, Russia Beyond the Headlines, and the Russian Library

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11

RUSSIAN LIBRARY – Editorial Advisory Board Meeting 12:00 – 2:00 PM

Columbia University Press (Invitation-Only)

Co-sponsored by the Russian Library

THE RUSSIAN NOBEL LAUREATES On the works of Bunin, Sholokhov, Pasternak,

Solzhenitsyn, Brodsky, and Alexievich 6:00–8:00 p.m.

The Grolier Club47 East 60th Street, New York, NY 10022

A closing night celebration of Russia’s Nobel Prize laureates in literature – with their translators and biographers. Featuring Antonina W. Bouis, translator; Solomon Volkov, author; Stephanie Sandler, Harvard University; and Peter Constantine, translator.

Featuring original book art by Vera Belius for A Tale of Fort Ross, to be released in the spring of 2016 by the Renova Fort Ross Foundation (www.fortrossfoundation.org).

Co-sponsored by the Renova Group of Companies, the Renova Fort Ross Foundation, and the Russian Library

Program Sponsors:

Russian Literature Week! 2015R

Event Sponsors:

Information Partner:

www.readrussia.org