But I don’t think we’ve ever had a run of quality quite like what we’re in right now. Books from Macedonio Fernandez, Alejandro Zambra, Mercè Rodoreda, Ilf & Petrov, Mikhail Shishkin, etc. Looking back over the eighty books Open Letter has published, you’ll find a ton of gems. Next week, we’re hosting two of their authors: Josefine Klougart (ONE OF US IS SLEEPING) on Monday, September 26 and Ananda Devi (EVE OUT OF HER RUINS) on Tuesday, September 27.Īnticipating these two events, we reached out to our friends at Open Letter and Deep Vellum to find out what they’re excited about in the world of translation.Ĭhad W. He lives and works in Kharkiv, where he has remained despite Russian bombings.No secret: all of us at Brazos have a little thing for literature in translation, and two of our favorite publishers are Open Letter Books and Deep Vellum Publishing. In 2013, he participated in Euromaidan demonstrations in Kharkiv, and in 2014, he was assaulted outside the administration building in Kharkiv, an incident discussed in The New Yorker. His own works have been translated into German, English, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Russian, Hungarian, Armenian, Swedish and Czech. Zhadan has translated poetry from German, English, Belarusian, and Russian, from poets such as Paul Celan and Charles Bukowski. He taught Ukrainian and world literature from 2000 to 2004, and thereafter retired from teaching. He graduated from Kharkiv University in 1996, then spent three years as a graduate student of philology. Zhadan was born in Starobilsk, Luhansk Oblast. Writing is just one of his many interests, which also include singing in a band, translating poetry and organizing literary festivals. He has twice won BBC Ukraine’s Book of the Year (20) and has twice been nominated as Russian GQ’s “Man of the Year” in their writers category. But could these qualities be manipulated to serve an unworthy cause, spelling disaster for him, his bees and his country? Wherever he goes, Sergeyich's childlike simplicity and strong moral compass disarm everyone he meets. This simple mission on their behalf introduces him to combatants and civilians on both sides of the battle lines: loyalists, separatists, Russian occupiers and Crimean Tatars.
As spring approaches, he knows he must take them far from the Grey Zone so they can collect their pollen in peace. With little food and no electricity, under constant threat of bombardment, Sergeyich's one remaining pleasure is his bees. Thanks to the lukewarm war of sporadic violence and constant propaganda that has been dragging on for years, only two residents remain: retired safety inspector turned beekeeper Sergey Sergeyich and Pashka, a rival from his school days.
Little Starhorodivka, a village of three streets, lies in Ukraine's Grey Zone, the no-man's-land between loyalist and separatist forces. Glory to Ukraine, and may the citizens and writers of Ukraine stay safe so that tomorrow we can be together again in a world of understanding and compassion.įounder & Director, Deep Vellum Bookstore and Publishing Today, it’s more important than ever to listen to the voices of Ukraine - a country, a language, a culture that deserves to be more widely known, packed with writers of astounding ability and creativity, some of whom we are so lucky and so proud to publish.ĭespite the horrors happening across Ukraine, reading is still a revolutionary act. What can we do? What efforts of resistance can we enact? What can we put out into the world to make change? To end the war? I started Deep Vellum with the mission to bring the world into conversation through literature, with the maybe naïve belief that reading and writing are revolutionary acts that can and should change the world. I have spent my entire life studying Russian and Ukrainian literature and culture, and even with all of the historical precedent leading up to this moment, I truly cannot believe that we are here. To write this letter makes me so emotional it feels impossible.
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