The Eastern Partnership Literary Review (EPLR), founded in 2014, is a semi-annual journal published by Porta Danubiana, o.z. for Comenius University (Bratislava) in English.
This issue of the journal is published within the ÂŤVisegrad Eastern Partnership Literary AwardÂť project granted by the International Visegrad Fund. To subscribe to Eastern Partnership Literary Review please contact: veapla@veapla.eu
© Porta Danubiana, o.z. © Cover: Nina Štrpková Layout and print: CC CREATIVE s.r.o.
ISSN: 1339-7583
Eastern Partnership Literary Review authors, books & literary life in Eastern Partnership countries Vol. 1 (2014), No. 2
Editorial board
Anton Eliáš (Editor), Ľubor Matejko (Managing Editor), Mária Kusá, Ivan Posokhin, Tereza Chlaňová, Paulina Olechowska, Lajos Pálfalvi
Contents
On the 2014 Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award ....................................... 05 Ľubor Matejko – Ivan Posokhin – Kristína Ševečková
About Literature Not for Everyone and a Little Bit about Magic ............................... 11 Interview by Natalka Kharytaniuk
LITERATURE, ART & SOCIETY
Prokhasko, Andrukhovych and Zabuzhko – A Few Words about Contemporary Ukrainian Literature ..................................................................................................... 14 Paulina Olechowska
Russian-language Literature of Kazakhstan ................................................................ 18 Larissa Kharitonova
Flight over Morchiladze’s Selected Works and Back .................................................. 25 Katarína Hrčková
WHAT´S ON IN LITERARY LIFE
Caucasus Literary Timeline .......................................................................................... 27 Kristína Ševečková
Ali Akbar (Alekper Aliyev) – “Artush and Zaur” ........................................................... 31 Jaroslav Sommer
EAP LITERATURE ABROAD
On the Slovak Editon of “Moskoviada” ....................................................................... 35 Mária Kusá
Some of the Best European Fiction from Eastern Partnership countries .................. 38 Ľubica Bezáková
Szláv Textus .................................................................................................................. 39 Andrej Kállay
Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award 2014 Ľubor Matejko – Ivan Posokhin – Kristína Ševečková* One of the main objectives of the Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award project is to present writers from the Eastern Partnership countries to the readers in the V4 countries. The Visegrad Literary Award, which annually honours books already acclaimed in their countries of origin, lets authors go beyond the (often narrow) boundaries of their native literary markets. Here are short summaries of the nominations in the 2014 short-list.
Արամ Պաչյան: Ցտեսություն, ծիտ
It self-creates and decomposes right in the process of reading with the immediate participation of the reader. The author has managed to embody characters using tricks of the imagination in reminiscing about an absent childhood and army friends as well as the hallucinations of the soldier. Like in a puzzle, every step, gesture, speech act and vision of the hero becomes a revelation and a return to the point of departure, where the forms and definitions of reality have been refuted.2
(Aram Pachyan: Goodbye, Bird). Yerevan, Antares Publishing House, 2012, 224 pp. ISBN 978-9939-51-378-2
A novel of emotions which aims to uncover the internal aspect of the human experience. The author claims that he wrote the novel as a musical performance, where rhythm is important.1 The main character of the novel, a 28-yearold man, is a person who has returned home from the army and he is no longer able to get back to a normal life. In his imagination, he constantly embodies different characters. The novel is a book of questions, but the answers to them have to be found by the reader himself.
Other Aram Pachyanʾs notable works ► Ռոբինզոն - “Robinson”, 2011 ► Օվկիանոս - “Ocean“, 2014 Some of Pachyan’s short stories have been translated into English. Authorʾs previous awards ► prizes of the Gretert literary newspaper and Narcis in 2008 and 2009 ► Youth Prize of the President of Armenia (2010)
* Ľubor Matejko, Comenius University, Bratislava, matejko@ fphil.uniba.sk; Kristína Ševečková, Comenius University, Bratislava, seveckova3@uniba.sk; Ivan Posokhin, Comenius University, Bratislava, posokhin1@uniba.sk. 1 http://www.aysor.am/am/news/2012/05/05/arampachyan-book/ [online] [16.10.2014]
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http://literature.am/book/goodbye-bird/ [online] [16.10.2014]
Eastern Partnership Literary Review Vol. 1 (2014), No. 2
The writer debuted in 2007 and published in various local literary periodicals. His short stories were included in a 2013 collection of modern Armenian prose entitled Պոեզիայի անթոլոգիա 18-33 (Anthology 18–33).
Other Hovhannes Tekgyozyanʾs notable works ► Փայտե շապիկ -“The Wooden Shirt”, 2003 ► Ապակու արև - “The Glass Sun”, 2007 ► Երկսեռ թատրոն - “Doublesex Theatre, 2009 ► Մաշկացավ - “Skin-Ache”, 2013
* Հովհաննես Թեքգյոզյան: Փախչող քաղաքը
The author has published several critical and theoretical articles on the theatre and cinema. He is also known for his fantastical descriptions as well as for covering topics that in Armenia are perceived as controversial or taboo.
(Hovhannes Tekgyozyan: The Fleeting City). Yerevan, Antares Publishing House, 2012, 164 pp. ISBN 978-9939-51-379-9
Authorʾs previous awards ► Armenian-American IGEFA Prize for Best Young Writer (2006) ► Vahan Tekeyan Prize (2009) ► Grish Darbinyan Award (2009) ► Best Online Playwright Prize (2012) ► Orange Armenia Book Prize (2013)
“The Fleeting City” is an absurd story of two friends who live in a “running city”, a place where everything, including the buildings and people, is running and slipping away. Mysticism and urban typologies, grotesque, reserved and humorous transitions are interlaced. The actions in the story develop smoothly but at high speed, just like with a click of the mouse.3 Tekgyozyan tells the same story through different characters and from different perspectives, while adding or omitting some events to give the reader a more universal view of what has happened. The reviewers described the text as a “virtualcinematographic novel” where unique behaviours of the characters are revealed through conversations with a psychologist, devices of cinematic dramaturgy, mythic sketches and text messages.4
* Валянцін Акудовіч: Кніга пра Нішто (Valiantsin Akudovich: A Book About Nothing). Minsk, Lohvinau Publishing House, 2012, 305 pp. ISBN 9789856991922 As the author described the book, it is the culmination of his reflections expressed in the essay “I Don’t Exist”, where he
http://haygirq.am/shop-2/fiction/the-running-city/ [online] [16.10.2014] 4 http://literature.am/book/the-runaway-city/ [online] [16.10.2014] 3
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Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award 2014
Альгерд Бахарэвіч: Гамбургскі рахунак Бахарэвіча (Alherd Bakharevich: The Hamburg Account of Bakharevich). Minsk, Lohvinau Publishing House, 2012, 428 pp, ISBN 978-985-562-012-0
contemplated about The Nothing and The Absent. In his meditations on the concept of absence, he addresses or even controverts all the previous philosophical tradition, from Parmenides to Heidegger and Sartre. Other Valiantsin Akudovich’s notable works ► Меня нет. Размышления на руинах человека - “I Am Not: Reflections on the Ruins of a Man”, 1998 ► Разрушить Париж - “Destroying Paris”, 2004 ► Диалоги с Богом - “Dialogues With God”, 2006 ► Код отсутствия - “The Code is Missing”, 2007 ► Архипелаг Беларусь - “Archipelago Belarus”, 2010
“The Account” contains more than 50 essays that are devoted to the most famous figures in Belarusian literature: Husouski, Shemyakin and Bykau among others and presents author’s subjective, fresh, new and to some extent ironic opinions on the classics of Belarusian literary works. Essays from his Hamburg period (2007–2013) were published on the website of Radio Svaboda in 2011 and 2012.8 The author currently lives in Minsk.
Akudovich’s texts have been published in Macedonia, Serbia, the United States, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.
Other Alherd Bakharevichʾs notable works ► Практычны дапаможнік па руйнаваньні гарадоў - “A Practical Guide to City Ruining”, 2002 ► Праклятыя госьці сталіцы “The Damned Guests of the Capital”, 2008 ► Сарока на шыбеніцы “A Magpie on the Gallows”, 2009 ► Шабаны. Гісторыя аднаго зьнікненьня - “Shabany. The Story of a Disappearance”, 2012 ► Малая Мэдычная Энцыкляпэдыя Бахарэвіча - “A Small Medical Encyclopaedia by Bakharevich”, 2012
Authorʾs previous awards ► Award of Аlexander Adamovich (Belarusian Centre of PEN International, 2001) ► Hliniany Viales Award (2007) ► Zalataya Litara Award (2013) As a respected philosopher and an iconic figure of Belarusian intellectual life since the second half of the 1990s5 Akudovich is asked to comment on any event concerning life in his country.6 In an interview, he claims that he is not interested in what exists, but in what does not exist: nothing, absence and non-existence.7 http://by.soli-day.org/sites/default/files/akudovich_eng.pdf [online] [16.10.2014] 6 http://www.litmir.net/br/?b=201466 [online] [16.10.2014] 7 http://goals.by/other/articles/71551 [online] [16.10.2014] 5
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http://kamunikat.org/Bacharewicz_Alhierd.html [online] [16.10.2014]
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Bakharevich’s books have been translated into German, Czech, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Russian and Polish. In 2010 Leipzig’s Leipziger Literaturverlag publishing house published the German translation of “A Magpie on the Gallows”.
the “best espresso” in the city. The novel treads into the field of various themes and ideas, including the metaphysical matter of man and his mission, loneliness, the problem of language and creation. The novel is significantly marked by the tradition of magical realism, which could potentially attract even lovers of Márquez, Borgez and Cortázar.
Authorʾs previous awards ► Hliniany Viales Award (2002) ► short-listed for the Gedroyc Literary Award 2012 and 2013
Other Ihar Babkouʾs notable works ► Solus Rex, 1986 ► Герой вайны за празрыстасьць “Hero of the War for Transparency”, 1998 ► Адам Клакоцкі і ягоныя цені “Adam Klakotski and his Shadows”, 2001 ► Каралеўства Беларусь Вытлумачэньнi ру[i]наў The Kingdom of Belarus: Interpretation of Ru[i]ns, 2005 ► Засынаць, прачынацца, слухаць галасы рыб - “To Fall Asleep, Wake up and Listen to the Fish”, 2009
The fact that he was selected to be a jury member of the prestigious Gedroyc Literary Award proves that he is an authoritative writer who is popular among readers, critics and other authors. * Ігар Бабкоў: Хвiлiнка. Тры гісторыі (Ihar Babkou: A Minute: Three Stories). Minsk, Lohvinau Publishing House, 2013, 232 pp, ISBN 978-985-562-097-7
Babkou’s books have been translated into Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, German, English and Hungarian.
A novel about the places we accidently stumble upon and stay in is not a typical one where the action starts at a certain point in order to end at another certain point. This is a collection of three stories united by a common framework. The protagonists of the stories are three friends and each of them comes into the limelight in separate chapters. The spatiotemporal framework of the novel is built around a surreal café in Minsk named Khvilinka, known as the place which serves
Authorʾs previous awards ► Hliniany Viales Award (1993) ► Zalataya Litara Award (2005) ► short-listed for Angelus in 2009 ► Zalaty apostraf Award (2011) ► Gedroyc Literary Award (2014)
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Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award 2014
Our congratulations go to Ihar Babkou who won the Visegrad Eastern Partnership Literary Award 2014. The decision was taken during the jury meeting on 4 July 2014. The following statements from various reviews discussed by the jury members were the most cited: 1) “A Minute” demonstrates not only Babkou’s excellent narrative skills, especially in the chapter named “Air Balloon”, but also his broad intellectual and philosophical range as well.
2) It may seem that the author has placed excessively high demands on his readers, but actually the novel reads easily and the philosophical passages bring the reader to a contemplative or even meditative state. 3) “A Minute” speaks about love when it re-interprets the love triangle motif and even talks about politics, presenting hints at Belarus’s actual political figures which are not all that veiled.
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Ihar Babkou: Poet, philosopher, wanderer
(2013) as well as a book of essays entitled “The Kingdom of Belarus: An Interpretation of Ruins” (2005). He has also undertaken historical and philosophical research in essays such as “The Philosophy of Jan Sniadecki” (2002). He has translated the works of James Joyce, J. D. Salinger, W. B. Yeats and P. Celan. Along with his literary activities, Babkou has had an academic career since the end of the 1990s: he works with the history of ideas at the Institute of Philosophy in Minsk and lectures at universities in Minsk and Vilnius. In 2003 he defended his thesis on the philosophy of Sniadecki. Since the second half of the 1990s, his stories, poems and essays have been translated into Polish, Ukrainian, German, Czech and Hungarian. The Polish translation of “Adam Klakotski and his Shadows” was published in 2008 by the Oficyna 21 publishing house in Warsaw and in the same year the Polish translation of “The Kingdom of Belarus” was published in Wroclaw. He is a leftist Buddhist – depending on his political persuasion.
© Photo by Andrej Liankievich
Ihar Babkou is a poet, philosopher, and translator. He was born in Homiel (Belarus) in 1964. He is a member of the Union of Belarusian Writers and the Belarusian Centre of PEN International. Having graduated from the Department of Philosophy at the Belarusian State University in Minsk in 1986, he underwent internship training in London (1992), Warsaw (1995), Paris (in 1999 on a Hedroits scholarship) and Berlin (in 2008 on a Literary Colloquium Scholarship). He is the winner of such prizes for literature as the Hliniany Viales (1992), Zalataya Litara (2005) and the Gedroyc Literary Award (2014). He was a finalist of the 2009 Angelus Literary Award (Wroclaw). He is the author of three books of poetry: “Solus Rex” (1991), “Hero of the War for Transparency” (1998) and “To Fall Asleep, Wake up and Listen to the Fish” (2009). He has also written two novels “Adam Klakotski and his Shadows” (2001) and “A Minute” 10
Eastern Partnership Literary Review Vol. 1 (2014), No. 2
About Literature Not for Everyone and a Little Bit about Magic
fighter carries on to the end, even though he understands that there is nothing to fight for. And the singer searches for the music of fate, wanting to encounter it. There is also another aspect: a metaphysical one. From this perspective, we face the alchemic story of mysterium coniunctionis – a magical theatre of the soul where the characters are all dressed in the clothes of the period.
Interview with Ihar Babkou by Natalka Kharytaniuk* It’s been almost ten years since the launch of your first novel “Adam Klakotski and his Shadows”. You’ve published three more books over the years – philosophical and poetic essays, some poetry and even a monograph on the history of ideas – but no prose (except for the short story “Autumn in Harodnia”). This winter (2013) a new novel has finally been released. Its title “Khvilinka” – translated as “A Minute” – prompts a logical question. Why did it take you so long?
Where can all of this be placed within modern Belarusian literature? What could such a type of literature be called? I think that modern Belarusian literature today has three poles: three types of fiction. The first two could be presented by the works of two significant authors: Adam Hlobus and Alherd Bakharevich. The third type of fiction is found in “Klakotski”. The first type of fiction is “playing with reality”, the second is “the reality of the play” and the third is literature as “a different reality”. Hlobus is a mystery for the critics. He is a very delicate and reflexive writer who refuses to be “nice”. We call this stance “realism”, but not the usual and naïve realism. He plays “dangerous games” with “reality”; reality finds its place in his art, and art finds its place in his reality, sometimes turning his life into literature. Another important writer of realism from my generation is Andrei Fedarenka. I love his prose for its sincerity and the evasion of any glamour. The second type is light Belarusian modernism, stemming from “Sister” by Kuzma Chorny. In the 1990s and 2000s, Siarhei Dubavets, Barys Piatrovich and Siarhei Rubleuski worked within this system of coordinates. Bakharevich reaches maximum altitude here: he exposes the trend to the full, structures it and gives it a well-cut
It’s my opus magnum, the same “unfinished novel” which I had begun to write in the late 1980s and which in its unfinishedness seems to have transformed into the status of a personal myth. In this sense, “A Minute” and “Klakotski” are both fragments of the same personal poetic epic about the epoch. Structurally each part of them is almost an autonomous story. But when taken together and united by common characters and a common environment, they form novels. They might as well be read separately – like the later stories of Salinger – so one does not miss out on “the particulars”, but in the end they can and should be seen as a whole. Could you suggest a short formula which would explain the novel in a condensed form? Is there a plot, a penetrating idea and a drama of the whole? Yes, I could call it a long story about one café in Minsk: a story about three friends who go there in the late 1980s and never leave. The three friends are a poet, a fighter and a singer. Each of them stays true to his choice while going through several epochs. The poet remains a wizard of words. The
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Natalka Kharytaniuk, Belarusian State University, Belarus, harnami@yahoo.com
Eastern Partnership Literary Review Vol. 1 (2014), No. 2
of “Klakotski” referred to your book as being an example of magical realism.
shape. But in the hands of Vishniou, this trend turns into a Belarusian form of Dadaism. And when Sin makes use of it, this modernism disintegrates into debris. The third type of fiction begins with “Adam Klakotski and his Shadows”. Yet in 2001 – the year it was published – “Klakotski” occupied a strange place in Belarusian literature. Perhaps it became a place itself. I don’t know what to call it. For different people, it depicts itself in different ways. At one of the book presentations, Valiantsin Akudovich claimed that “Klakotski” starts up the idea of a “different prose”. I hope someday he will explain to us what he meant. I would rather – along with Paval Kastsiukevich – call this type of fiction – “literature not for everyone”. This is a much more exact definition than “elite literature”, “intellectual literature” or even “metaphysical literature”. The authors and readers of this type of prose do not have to be members of the elite. On the contrary, since in our epoch the niche of the elite is seized by businessmen and the mass media, this “literature not for everyone” draws vagabonds, dervishes and intellectuals – the underground in its direct meaning. This type of literature does not have any common stylistic or conceptual guidelines. It confronts “literature for everyone” or “format literature”. The situation slightly reminds me of the opposition between Hollywood and art cinema. Literature not for everyone includes books looking for their own reader – a reader with a certain shape of soul, someone a bit more delicate or simply with different emotional reactions to reality.
Against the totality of trash and media glamour today, even the traditional techniques of a psychological novel might seem to represent unusual courage and something wildly avant-garde. In its outer form, I would call “Adam Klakotski” the first meta-novel in Belarusian literature: meta-fiction in which the author and characters exist alongside each other on equal terms. And yes, the Poles are right: of all the labels, “magical realism” is the most appropriate. It only needs to be purified from its outer glamour and restored to its original meanings. Firstly, one has to admit that there are different visions of magical realism – including the author’s private concepts. And secondly, Latin Americans do not have an eternal monopoly over its practices. My vision involves Borges with Cortazar, but it also involves Bruno Schulz, Hesse, the late Salinger and even Kundera. At the same time, there is no Marquez or Carpentier – the authors who were the proponents of this art movement in the media – in my vision. What do you expect from the critics and readers? How do imagine the life of the book? Is there any hope for success? Now, when “one can’t tell dry wood from healthy wood”, as Ales Razanau wrote, it is naive and inadequate to aspire to success, particularly in the meaning our epoch gives to this word. The book is a success if it becomes a special place to host people with the same shape of soul irrespective of the quantity of copies sold. Hence the only thing truly important for the author is to help the book find its readers.
In the 1990s everything beyond the mainstream – just to be sure – was called “postmodernism”. Now that today this word has been relegated to oblivion, can we ask the question of whether there is a conceptual reference point on the territory of Belarusian literature? The Polish reviews
Minsk, May 2014 12
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Artforum Publishing House edition of the VEaPLA 2014 winning book 13
Eastern Partnership Literary Review Vol. 1 (2014), No. 2
Literature, Art & Society Prokhasko, Andrukhovych and Zabuzhko – A Few Words about Contemporary Ukrainian Literature
his time growing up in Deliatyn, a small town in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Once owned by his grandfather and now by him, the narrator’s village house is his special place: it is his Ukraine.10 Being in close contact with the mountain landscape and observing nature shapes the sense of identity of the narrator: “[...] and so the guests and childhood, landscape, body, Ukraine. In my case it all comes together by the forest between the mountains in Deliatyn.”11 The author knows the history of this town very well. Creating a kind of philosophy of landscape, he describes in detail the colours and scents of this mountainous area. His favourite elements of the landscape are the Gorgany Mountains as well as the areas near Prut and Lubiznia: places often visited by travellers. Life in the mountains is aligned with nature’s rhythm and is dependent on good interpersonal relationships. In this context, Prokhasko writes about the cult of hay: something for which people build separate buildings as they do for humans and animals: “After mowing hay something happens; this could be called a collective subconscious. To scatter, tip over, rake it in time between the sun, rain and sun. To move over, carry over [...] and hide. During this type of work, children begin to understand that they are part of a family. [And] loners – that they have neighbours.”12 Homeostasis between man and nature was disrupted in these areas by war.
Paulina Olechowska* Contemporary Ukrainian literature is developing very rapidly. It is distinguished by a deep reflection on the legacy of totalitarianism, contemporary social problems and an analysis of the Ukrainian mentality. Ukrainian works which deserve special attention have been written by Yuri Andrukhovych, Taras Prokhasko, Serhiy Zhadan, Oksana Zabuzhko, Maria Matios, Yevheniya Kononenko, Natalka Sniadanko and Sofia Andrukhovych. These artists possess an awareness of the past and the present which comes from their knowledge of history as well as their personal experiences. In their works, they attempt to answer the important questions of the modern world, issues of remembrance and heritage as well as the broader concept of identity. This article discusses three works pertaining to the shaping of self-identity. Ukraine as a republic of flowers Taras Prokhasko deals with important questions about his identity and sense of having roots as well as contemporary Ukrainian mentality. In an essay entitled “Discours de cosaques”, the author presents Paulina Olechowska, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warsaw, p.waszkiewicz@uw.edu.pl 9 For this article was used the Polish translation of the essay. Cf. T. Prochaśko, S. Żadan, Ukraina, transl. R. Rusnak (Kraków: Wydawnictwo Nemrod, 2006). Excerpts in English are the present author’s own translation. *
Ibid., p. 39. Ibid., p. 10. 12 Ibid., p. 4. 10 11
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Literature, Art & Society
There is a simple choice between life and death. The activities and presence of the NKVD and Gestapo as well as Ukrainian and Soviet partisans and the continuous change of power meant that “[no] one had confidence in anyone. [...] The ones who suffered the most were the people who were neutral: those who just wanted to survive. To refuse something to someone was impossible. [And] then they had to answer to someone else for their lack of refusal.”13 The story about Deliatyn consists of digressions about contemporary Ukrainian mentality. What was a pre-war resort has now been flooded by garbage. Once, as the author mentions, “trash was heavy and stuck to the ground [...] Now it flies, is carried by water and is blown around.”14 A lack of environmental awareness and respect for nature is a threat to life for the earth and mankind. Environmental degradation also degrades humans: “This synthetic garbage is characteristic for our country. The transition from Soviet minimalism to a consumption society was too fast; it was not foreseen by anyone, and no one controls it.”15 In another passage, the author deliberates over the fate of modern Ukraine. He identifies the characteristics of Ukraine, which in his opinion significantly block social and economic development. There is a lack of knowledge or respect for one’s own roots and an unwillingness to take responsibility for decisions pertaining to oneself, other people and nature as well as a lack of a deeper sense of ownership and belonging. Prokhasko proposes that Ukraine become a republic of flowers because “[w]here there are flowers, one needs to be reliable, caring
and careful. [...] One has to be gentle and cheerful.”16 A city within a city Shaping one’s own identity is also the leading topic of the works of Yuri Andrukhovych. In an essay entitled “Тут і тільки тут” (“Here and only here”),17 Andrukhovych writes about Stanislawow and Ivano-Frankivsk. He presents a vision of the city where he grew up. Andrukhovych presents individual elements of the city’s architecture: the walls of buildings, the buildings themselves, sewer grates and bricks with the former brickworks’ owner’s initials. He uses them to read the history of the city and its residents. He recognizes the traces of Poles who lived in these areas in inscriptions on the set of postal scales at the main post office in IvanoFrankivsk. Discovering the history of the city is something exceptional for him: “It seems to me that in this world there is no such thing as a special Stanislawian (‘Ivano-Frankivsk’?) game of layering.”18 The essayist writes about two different spaces: Stanislawow and IvanoFrankivsk. He evaluates the first as positive and the second as negative: “[...] in fact they are different cities.”19 However, they make up one whole as one is contained within the other. Stanislawow is the old city part: the remains of the defensive walls, the college, church, cathedral, synagogue, town hall and central European market as well as the Art Nouveau villas and eclectic and constructivist buildings.20 This space confirms its belonging to the European For this article was used the Polish translation of the essay. Cf. J. Andruchowycz, Ostatnie terytorium, transl. O. Hnatiuk, K. Kotyńska and L. Stefanowska (Wołowiec: Wydawnictwo Czarne, 2002). Excerpts in English are the present author’s own translation. 18 Ibid., p. 13. 19 Ibid., p. 15. 20 Ibid. 17
Ibid., p. 29. Ibid., p. 23. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid., p. 45. 13 14
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cultural sphere. Ivano-Frankivsk, on the other hand, is a “jungle of concrete slabs, cancer cells of late Russian urbanism, stench and darkness, a village in a city, juvenile criminals, alcoholics, drug addicts, [...] 24-hour local pubs with rude music”.21 In this essay, the author does not stay objective to the issues he writes about. The essay sometimes has a tone of personal confessions, Andrukhovych defends this vision of his city to himself in writing about the Soviet Ivano-Frankivsk and concludes: “There must also be something for which you can love this end of the world because otherwise how could you remain in this city for the last eight years?”22 For the author, the Stanislawow area is especially dear: it is safe, tamed and still fascinating; it gives a sense of being rooted and belonging. This feeling is strengthened every time when he shows fragments of the city to visitors because he is showing them Stanislawow. Andrukhovych’s city also includes people and loved ones: those with whom he “drinks, engages in discussions or discusses the weather”;23 those seen on the street (“old women and children as well as fake and real cripples”);24 and those who consider this life unworthy and miserable, and who complain about the government, mafia, militia and all the “Ukraines” and “Russias” in the world.25 For some this is a magical town, while for others it is just a place to live. Due to the artist’s sensitivity and fondness for places from his childhood and youth
alongside the aura of contrasts, the story is passed on as an insinuation and has elements of irony forming a narrative which reveals a multifaceted image of the city: a multifaceted image of identity. The colonial–style trauma of gender A woman’s identity and national identity are Oksana Zabuzhko’s leading topics in the book “Польові дослідження з українського сексу” (“Field Work In Ukrainian Sex”). The main character, named Oksana, is an educated woman, writer and researcher. We meet her at a time when she is touring American universities to give lectures on Ukrainian literature. She has recently left behind a bad relationship with a painter named Mykola. She comes from a 1960s family; she is a critical patriot and a sensitive woman. She analyses the causes of her relationship’s breakup and the plight of her nation in an emotional way. The heroine remembers the “Holodomor” (the Soviet famine of 1932–1933), which affected her mother, as well as the concentration camps, exile and the NKVD and KGB prisons. She is aware of these things and writes about how her adult choices have been affected by her childhood experiences and trauma caused by the totalitarian system, which still remains in the minds of Ukrainians. She psychoanalyses herself and her nation. She draws attention to the long-term effects of enslavement caused by Ukraine’s ideological colonization by Soviet Russia. These effects include a feeling of dependence on third parties, the victim and executioner syndrome, a sense of helplessness, passiveness and forced isolation. Metaphysical fear and anxiety, which people living in totalitarian reality succumbed to, is a dominant factor in the psyche of individuals and society as a whole. Addressing the American public, she says:
Ibid. Ibid. 23 Ibid., p. 18. 24 Ibid., p. 19. 25 Ibid., p. 20. 21 22
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“In your culture, tragedy is strictly personal: loneliness [and] love tragedies [...]. But you have never known a state of dependency on an invincible and metaphysical evil, where nothing you do matters – where you grow up in a wiretapped apartment and you know about it. You learn to speak to an invisible audience: some things [are said] aloud, some things are in signs and others you don’t even mention.”26 Using her own relationship as an example, she illustrates how far the totalitarian system interfered with even the most intimate spheres of life. She shows that Mykola is a dominant lover who does not know how to listen to the needs of his partner. He treats
the sexual sphere as a battlefield, and he feels threatened and reacts with aggression every time a woman shows any initiative. Over time Oksana understands the toxicity of their relationship and refuses such domination. She is aware of her needs (including her sexual ones) as well as her boundaries; she wants her partner to respect them. She says: “I don’t want to conquer, I want to love.”27 The three literary works presented and analysed above are identity narratives. They are interesting and diverse examples of the Ukrainian experience. These works have become documents of contemporary culture.28
Ibid., p. 57. G. Godlewski, Literatura i literatury. O kilku przesłankach możliwej a nawet koniecznej, lecz wciąż jeszcze nie istniejącej antropologii literatury, In: Narracja i tożsamość. Narracje w kulturze, eds. W. Bolecki and R. Nycz (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo IBL PAN, 2004), p. 3. 27
For this article was used the Polish translation of the book. Cf. O. Zabużko, Badania terenowe nad ukraińskim seksem, transl. K. Kotyńska (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo W.A.B, 2003), p. 141. Excerpts in English are the present author’s own translation. 26
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Kazakhstan. Art bilingualism assumes knowledge of two languages at the aesthetic and creative level. Full bilingualism is present in the outstanding work of the Kazakh older generation of novelists Rollan Seysenbaev, Mukhtar Auezov, Abdizhamil Nurpeisov and middle generation - Dyusinbek Nakipov, Aslan Zhaksylykov, Umit Tazhikenova, as well as of a large number of poets - Olzhas Suleimenov, Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Bahyt Kairbekov. The list of names could be much longer. Kazakh writers remain Kazakh in their artistic perception of the world, but the Russian language and mentality influences their creativity as well. Russian literary scholars suggested the term “Russian borderland literature”. But it reflects rather the relationship with Russia than the specifics of Kazakh-Russian literature. Major Kazakh critic and writer V. V. Badikov, who worked on the question of self-identity of Kazakh literature for many years, expressed quite fair opinion that the cultural code of Russian-language writers of Kazakhstan, especially born and raised there, is not identical to Russian cultural code. Long-term isolation from the historical homeland and the authority of Kazakh culture increased during the years of independence, sometimes overshadowing Russian culture, raises the feeling of marginality and peripheral position among Russian writers in the relation to the literature of the “great neighbour” - Russia. Motives of “two homelands” are frequently repeated in the lyrics of the Kazakh-Russian poets. In V. Michailovʾs poem it is expressed very clearly:
Russian-language Literature of Kazakhstan Larissa Kharitonova* Literary bilingualism is being explained by the historical interaction of Russian and Kazakh cultures, dating back to the tradition of the great Kazakh educators, writers, public figures, such as Abay or Shoqan Walikhanov in the 19th century, Akhmet Baytursinuli, Mukhtar Auezov in the 20th century. Their works were created in two languages and they recognised the Russian language as supreme value, thanks to which it was possible to understand the world of Russian, as well as European culture too. In the last years of the Soviet Union (end of 1980s), Eurasian idea and the idea of Turkic-Slavic dualism gradually became established through the thoughts of L. N. Gumilev and Kazakh poet, philologist and public figure Olzhas Suleimenov, both really respected in Kazakhstan. The Eurasian idea has become the spiritual foundation of intercultural polylinguism of Kazakhstan and has been forming unified cultural area for many years. Today it has acquired the status of a national idea. The overwhelming majority of Kazakhs speak Russian and Russians are familiar with Kazakh culture and traditions. In the postwar years the virgin lands of Kazakhstan were populated by thousands of Russians together with Komsomol brigades, who did not return back. Therefore, the “Russian component” in Kazakh culture and literature is definitely considerable. Russian-Kazakh factor of bilingualism has become one of the defining factors for the literature of *
Земля чужая, я ль тебе чужой, Когда тебе впервые удивился. Земля родная, я ль тебе родной, Когда я на чужой земле родился.
Larissa Kharitonova, E. A. Buketov Karaganda State University, Karaganda, novoedelo@yandex.kz 18
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Sometimes there is a thin line between homesickness and acceptance of the newfound homeland. Thus, Gundarev has strong feelings for both of them and only acceptance of two homelands may evoke the feeling of happiness:
For example, if we take the novel as the most indicative genre of the literary process, we will see that it has a variety of forms: historical novels by I. Esenberlin, M. Simashko, M. Auezov, lyrical and philosophical novels by D. Doszhan, H. Adibaev, neo-mytholigical novels by D. Nakipov and D. Amantay, oneiric (novels-dreams) by A. Zhaksylykov and even erotic novels by B. Dzhilkibaev. Artistic innovations are implemented both in the content (predominance of philosophical and ontological problems), and the on the “formal level” (diversity of narrative neo-mytholigism, genre and stylistic and methodological syncretism, hyper- and intertextuality). The contemporary Kazakh literature develops in cooperation of traditionalism and postmodernism. From the perspective of the postmodern (in its pure form), the concept of tradition is not relevant, however, on Kazakh basis the synthesis of tradition and postmodernism is becoming real. Postmodernisation of Kazakh literature is more applied in the form and artistic techniques, the content often appeals to tradition. One of the essential features of Kazakhstan postmodernism is the attraction of writers and poets to the myth and myth-making - the creation of their own neo-mythological stories and the appeal to traditional mythology may be observed. Appeal to national and non-national mythological contexts describe the novels “Человек-олень” (“Man-Deer”) by O. Bokeev, “Созвездие Близнецов” (“Gemini Constellation”) by H. Adibaev, “Бабочка цветом попугая” (“Multicolored Butterflies”) by D. Amantay, “Круг пепла” (“The Circle of Ashes”) by D. Nakipov, “Сны окаянных” (“The Dreams of Accursed”) by A. Zhaksylykov.
И это – в сердце, в этом- счастье, Навеки соединено, Не разделить его на части Ведь сердце у меня одно. It is difficult to determine unambiguously the status of Russian culture and literature in the former Soviet Union and Kazakhstan in particular. From the perspective of the “official literature”, Russian literature is hardly a leading element of the literary process. This is largely due to the fact that many authors moved to Russia or other republics and also because of the social and political situation that demonstrates the orientation in the central role of Kazakh culture. There are no Russian names awarded national literary prizes - it is quite natural in the years of building the independent republic and strengthening of national identity. A number of critical articles emphasised the dying of Russian literature in Kazakhstan and its absorption in Kazakh literature, but on the other hand there are opposite opinions as well. Processes that occur in Kazakh literature are definitely corresponding to the main tendencies and trends in world literature. Today we can speak about the interaction of realistic (D. Isabekov, A. Artsyshevsky, R. Seisenbayev, L. Shashkova, V. Mikhailov et al.), modernist and postmodernist (A. Didar, D. Nakipov, A. Zhaksylykov et al.) artistic consciousness. 19
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Aslan Zhaksylykovʾs tetralogy “The Dreams of Accursed”
If only he could free himself from the past ... It always comes to Jean in memories, dreams and visions. This loner has dreams in which he is experiencing severe conditions - the horror of the abyss, the bitterness of loneliness and the inescapable sadness these feelings experienced in dreams become facts of his new reality. at the end of the novel, besides the hero’s personal life appears an existential level of his life - the world of the soul, dreams and visions, which allows us to classify Zhaksylykov’s work as the novel of “stream of consciousness”. The narrative is built on the edge of factual and psychological, domestic and mythopoetical stories. Their interaction gives rise to a deep philosophical layer of the novel. In this earthly life, Jean passes all the circles of Hell. Both the external and internal life of the hero is the wandering of a lonely, homeless soul, gradually losing touch with reality. The hero tries to find something bright in his memory and images of his childhood appear - his parents’ house, mother, father, childhood friends, boys’ games and sunny courtyard. These rare and bright pages of the novel are full of bright sadness and warmth. An image of stone appears in the novel repeatedly. In his childhood, after being hit by the stone, Jean becomes ill, his legs are numb for a long time and his father dies of grief. Often ill and weak the little boy who grew up near the test site, thinks he is bearing a stone somewhere in the back of his head that causes him unbearable pain. So at the same time there is the theme of childhood and the theme of destruction, creating fear. In such an ontological situation, the sacred space of childhood appears hopeless, fragile and vulnerable. The novel absorbs images of different cultures. Predominantly, of course, nomadic (the image of the ancient old man of the Turkic
A saga about the tragedy of the Kazakhs, whose land has become a nuclear testing ground experiments1 includes four parts – “Поющие камни” (“The Singing Stones”), “Сны окаянных” (“The Dreams of Accursed”), “Другой океан” (“Another Ocean”), “Дом суриката” (“House of Meerkat”). In the centre of the first novel “The Singing Stones” is the story of our contemporary thinking, educated person who has realised the tragic hopelessness and futility of his life: “Blood-sucking lie is the indispensable way of life, a compulsory element of what is beautifully and scientifically called evolution.” Material prosperity, successful career, “necessary” people round - are the aims modern man is striving for, but the hero of Zhaksylykov cannot accept it anymore. He refuses to live in an atmosphere of general absurdity, which is unlikely to end soon. Evil, greed and envy control people more and more. And he makes a choice - to leave. To leave and hide at the bottom of life, in an old barn. An outwardly successful person turns into scum, an alcoholic without a name, profession and social status. But this way of life is pleasing him more because it is tough and nothing varnishes the truth. During 1949-1989, Semipalatinsk Test Site operated in Kazakhstan, which was closed thanks to public anti-nuclear movement led by Olzhas Suleimenov. Today more than a million Kazakhs are officially recognised as victims of nuclear testing that had a direct impact on their health. 1
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world named Korkut, who is the thinker, the keeper of “secrets of the universe”, “the ancestor of all Turks”), but there are images of Buddhist and Christian culture that are encoded in the names of Adam, Noah, Mahatma Gandhi, Tao, Buddha, Ishtore Mayana, Kun-Tzu arising from scraps of the hero’s delirium and from the ruins of his dreams. Zhaksylykov uses hidden and obvious reminiscences of Eastern philosophy, Buddhist texts, Brahmanism, Taoism and Sufi teachings. Thanks to the uniting of their anthropological and spiritual ideas, they form the philosophical and moral context of the novel, promote the transfer of all the drama of the hero’s and human existence - of our contemporary in general.
(from the Creation of the World) and present (Almaty in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century), on the verge of myth and reality. Nakipov characterises the novel as a novel of intentions, that means the novel of emotional and intellectual impulses, desires, as a discursive novel, involving the active participation of the reader in the construction of artistic integrity. On a thematic and stylistic level, it is defined as a ballet novel, portraying ballet as the syncretic art of dance and music. It seems that all the stylistic structure of his novel is submitted to this dance. This prose inclines to the verse and music. In some parts of the story, Nakipov uses musical notation and musical quotes from famous ballets. The central story about ballet of “Ballet novel” is immersed in the history of human origins - from the wild, animal state to modern man who seeks the possibility of cloning. This story is the shaped hypothesis of the human origin. At first, the human race only grunts and cries, but these emotional sounds-symbols develops into a language. It is interesting that the first people live between the mountains (Ala-Tau) and steppe (plain Zhetysu) - the pearl of the south-eastern Kazakhstan. The story about a tribe of Samions claims sensual love as the beginning of the World, the pagan worship of the human flesh that is able to generate new life. Nakipov embodies his own philosophy and even religion in the novel, though it is a religion of atheism, proclaiming strong opposition to confession, praising Man:
“The Circle of Ashes” by Dyusinbek Nakipov Critics classify this novel as the peak of contem porar y postmodern prose of Kazakh literature. Also, interesting is the figure of the writer himself. He is a ballet dancer, known in Kazakhstan and abroad, choreographer, great poet, writer and screenwriter. He is also the author of several books of poetry and lyrical poems “Близнецы” (“Twins”), “Время Ре” (“Time Re”), “Падение Багдада” (“The Fall of Baghdad”), novels “Круг пепла” (“The Circle of Ashes”), “Тень ветра” (“The Shadow of the Wind”). Thanks to his innovative style of writing, he is called Kazakh Pelevin. The artistic world of “The Circle of Ashes” balances on the verge of the past
“I am a rider of life chosen from the sky and water ... I am the Man: the image of similarity and dissimilarity and ugliness itself, created by myself from the wildstupid-dumb-disgusting beautiful creature, I created my heart, soul and mind, sparkling brighter than the sun ... I want to be an embodiment of Dream and Flesh.” 21
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The world of real events (including reliable facts from the history of Almaty Opera and Ballet) is presented through the fate of artists and workers of ballet. The reader is presented a love story between a not young ballerina and a simple stagehand – a story that is elegant and fine like a dance. The dance as life energy is the basic metaphor of the novel - the existence novel, the novel about the birth of Love, Human, Life and Death, Cosmos and Chaos. Thus, even such a small overview of the three novels of Kazakhstan writers allows us to make a conclusion about the two interrelated principles of poetics, which became characteristic of the Kazakh prose of recent decades: on the one hand, there is usage of traditional, universal mythologems and archetypes, and on the other hand we see the creation of the author’s myth, developing in parallel with “everyday” storyline. It should be noted that Kazakh novelists are not purely oriented on national preferences. Prehistoric myths, myths of ancient times, Turkic and Christian myths are equally presented in the narrative levels of their novel. Nevertheless, the close attachment to the original source is absent, the myth may be subject of transformation, performing special artistic tasks. The world of the modern Kazakhstan novel is broad and diverse. It is not possible to present its full picture in this chapter, therefore, we will develop already expressed ideas about the Eurasian context of Kazakh literature and consider their implementation in the so-called “women’s prose”, more exactly, in the novel “Ось существования“ (“The Axis of Existence” by Umit Tazhikenova. The question of the specificity of the so-called “women’s literature”, prose in particular, is raised by literary scholars more
and more often. Its main feature is a “strictly female perspective on traditional human problems (life and death, feeling and duty, the relationship between human and nature, family, and many others)”2. The characteristics of women’s prose include such features increased publicism, impressionism and expressiveness. The historical period depicted in the novel are the problematic 1990s, the period of breaking stereotypes in the country and the transition from Soviet mentality to the new market economy. The fragmentation, pictures of pioneer childhood, family conflicts, everyday difficulties is typical for the narration. The heroine of the novel is Azhar – businesswomen and her image is largely autobiographical. The author of the novel, like the heroine, survived the most difficult times and managed to build her own business. Azhar is forced to live in a man’s world of power and politics, the business world, in which there is no male and female, and there are only competitors, losers and winners: “Like in a war zone ... do not believe, do not be afraid, do not ask.” All relatives recognise her success, someone is happy for her, someone envies, someone misuses it. Despite the outward success, the heroine does not feel happy. She seems to be lost, hiding from relatives and strangers behind the masks and her true face is covered, life taught her to do it. She became rude and cruel. “So I became an exploiter. I forgot my suffering and work twelve-fourteen hours. If something goes slightly wrong, I am furious, I scream and say hurtful things to them. And I do not notice ... “3 Гаврилина О.В. : Чувство природы как один из способов создания образа героини в женской прозе In: Вестник Ленинградского государственного университета им. А. С. Пушкина. 2009. – № 2 (26). - p. 105 – 114. 3 Евразийский талисман. Almaty: Bilim,1996. p. 29. 2
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She has a husband, children and many relatives, but she feels completely alone. “Sadness is pressing and pressing on her. She knows that vodka is not going to help ... She did not relax for a long time. Every day is routine work of twelve-fourteen hours. To survive.”4 In the first part of the novel, the heroine has the features of the „western“ and emancipated woman who lost her femininity in the battle for life. However, her origin and “eastern” mentality wins in the end. A dramatic vision of the world gradually reaches its peak and Azhar feels that everything that has happened to her and to her country must be expressed in words: “Suddenly, there is a pen in her hand, paper on the table ... a flood of words, not her own ... as if someone dictated or led her hand ...” The reader sees not only the heroine -businesswomen, experiencing a deep spiritual crisis, but the woman-writer, who found herself in a word, saving word, which is like dictated from above her. Many thoughts present Asian mentality, the narrative includes Kazakh words and expressions, proverbs, that expands the boundaries of the Russian language and makes it very specific. The second part of the novel is devoted to retrospective reconstruction of Azhar’s genealogy. The eastern mentality of heroine, committed to honour and to remember her roots is clearly manifested. Here we have Azhar - a real Kazakh woman, for whom the concepts such as origin, family 4
and the memory of the deceased are very important. In a careful attitude to memory we observe the national features of Kazakh people. Eventually the image of axis of existence is born naturally, which corresponds to the archetype of the World-axis or the axis of the world, which, according to Indian and Chinese tradition, permeates the entire universe and passes through the centre of Earth. Axis of existence is also the memory like binding thread of generations, their memory. The past gives answers to the questions of the present and predicts the future. We have mentioned only three names, hoping that they will give a very general picture of the contemporary Russian -language prose of Kazakhstan. Its artistic features include: artistic bilingualism, the pursuit of understanding the origins, the tendency to be philosophic, mystification, mythologisation, the moving from national to universal issues. The contemporary Kazakh novel is also inscribed in contemporary postmodern paradigm in terms of artistic techniques and the principles of the authors narrative, but thanks to the content of the novels, uncovering the respect for national history and the serious reflection of the historical and political themes, these works may be defined as literature of neo-realism. * The capital of modern Kazakhstan is Astana, but the cultural centre of the republic, of course, is still the “southern capital” - Almaty. The already classical writers of Kazakh
Ibid., p. 31. 23
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literature live here, for example, Abdizhamal Nurpeisov, author of the novels “The Blood and Sweat” (describing the dramatic events of the revolution and civil war), “The Last Duty” (describing ecological tragedy of the dried Aral Sea). He is the president of the Kazakh PEN club and concentrates literary elite of the country around himself. In Almaty, the literary magazine “Prostor” (http:// zhurnal-prostor.kz) is published with state support every month, as well as the socio -political, scientific and literary magazine “Eurasiya”. Especially worth mentioning is the unique to the republic small run literary and art publication “Knigolyub” (http:// knigo.info), uniting the literary elite and creative young people of Kazakhstan. There are also several other publications (magazines “Niva” and “Apollinariy”, anthology “Literaturnaya Alma-Ata”) issued thanks to the means of patrons and sponsors. We must acknowledge that today it is impossible to live on money earned only by literary work. All the writers have related professions - philology, publishing, journalism or teaching. The public and humanitarian funds help too. They initiate literary competitions and award literary prizes. The literature has escaped from ideological pressure and is free in search of new artistic solutions. However, freedom comes at a price - writing becomes a private matter, and hence the search for funds for existence and promotion is also the matter of literary authors.
For further reading: ► Евразийский талисман. Almaty: Bilim,1996. ► Русскоязычные писатели Казахстана. In: Литература народов Казахстана. Ed. S. A. Kaskabayev. Almaty, 2004, 326 p. ► Мегалог. Международный литературно-художественный и научно-публицистический журнал, (Pyatigorsk), No 3/2010 (cf. pdf version on www.elbrusoid.org) ► Художественный мир литературы Казахстана: Компендиум. Almaty, 2009, 212 p. ► Бадиков В. Линия судьбы. Almaty, 2002. 136 p. ► Бадиков В. По гамбургскому счету. Almaty, 2008. 408 p. ► Бадиков В. Книга про себя и про всех. Almaty. 2009. 288 p.
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Flight over Morchiladze’s Selected Works and Back
to write 3 books a year and they are still bought, read and popular among readers. So what is the secret hidden in Morchiladze’s books that enables them to attract such a huge group of literature lovers? The answer probably lies in the topics of his works. In general, we can divide his writings into two groups.5 Firstly, there are historical novels set in Georgia at the turn of the 20th century, even though he uses postmodern methods in these works. Detective stories make up the second group, and because of these he is often compared to the Russian writer Boris Akunin. In his historical novels he not only uses his education and knowledge, but his fantasy as well because history is usually blended with fiction. He creates new mythology of places, a story is set on the edge of reality and myth. A good example of this kind of work is The Madatov Trilogy that consists of books, გადაფრენა მადათოვზე და უკან (“Flight over Madatov Island and Back”, 1998), გაქრები მადათოვზე (“Disappearance on Madatov Island”, 2001), ვეშაპი მადათოვზე (“A Whale on Madatov Island”, 2004). All three parts can also be read separately and the first volume was considered a real sensation in Georgian literature. Among the fictional heroes there are real historical characters present in the books, for example, Knut Hamsun or Ilia Chavchavadze. We can find many parallel stories in the book, they are not only set in Tbilisi, but the province as well, and they bring history in symbiosis with the present. The conclusion of the book is really surprising – the reader little by little is discovering that the whole story is just a virtual world – computer game, played by writer Ismail Peran.
Katarína Hrčková* According to the results of a readership study conducted in Georgia in the year 2012 „relatives’ or friends’ advice has significant influence on a consumers’ book selection process, both in terms of reading and buying.“1 So who will be the most recommended and therefore probably bestselling author in Georgia? Taking into consideration that fiction and detectives are, according to some surveys, the most popular genres among active readers, will most likely be Aka Morchiladze. This Georgian author was born in 1966 as Giorgi Akhvlediani. He studied history at Tbilisi State University and his studies have significantly influenced his literary creation. He had various occupations – he used to be a journalist - he worked in tabloids, but he considers himself not suitable for that profession.2 However, his sports column attracted many followers.3 He used to work as a TV presenter as well, he had his own TV programme on literature and history, which was broadcasted by Georgia’s first public broadcasting channel.4 But the occupation that brought him fame and success is the profession of writer and scriptwriter. Morchiladze’s books are considered bestsellers, he has won various awards, among others he won the SABA award, considered one of the most prestigious ones in Georgia, 5 times! He is even able Katarína Hrčková, Comenius University, Bratislava, hrckovak@gmail.com 1 http://www.bookplatform.org/images/activities/17/ brochure_en1.pdf 2 http://burusi.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/aka-morchiladze-7/ 3 http://gratzfeld.ch/pages/en/authors/akamortschiladse.php 4 Ibid. *
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ფალიაშვილის ქუჩის ძაღლები (“Dogs of Paliashvili Street”, 1995) the author brings us vivid pictures of Tbilisi’s Vake District. He captures the atmosphere, subcultures and even jargon of the local people. Using language derivates is an integral part of Morchiladze’s work. For example, in the novel ძირს სიმინდის რესპუბლიკა (“Down with the Corn Republic”, 2003) he experiments with Anglicism’s. Heroes of the novel, Georgian emigrants living in London, are speaking Georgian mixed with Anglicism’s. Morchiladze was awarded by the SABA6 award 5 times in category „Best novel“. The first time he won with the book Your life (2002) in 2003, the second time, in the year 2005 the book “Santa Esperanza” (2004) was awarded. The third time he attracted a jury in 2006 with the novel ვენერას სიზმარი (“Venera’s Dream”, 2005) and two years later the book “Maid in Tiflis” (2007) which won the title of the best novel. “Obolé” (2011) is his last awarded book. We can almost be sure that these awards are not Morchiladze’s last – just last year he issued two books. One non-fiction written in a very personal way, “Georgian Notebook”s, and the novel “The Shy Emerald”, that is again opening historical and mythological areas of Morchiladze’s fantasy. However, Morchiladze currently lives in London, and is still able to describe Georgia in fantastic colours and attract readers. Unfortunately, just a few of Morchiladze’s novels have been translated into foreign languages, however they are apparently keeping in step with modern literary tendencies and they are enriched by attractive Georgian topics.
Aka Morchiladze is also a very popular author of detective stories. Although these stories are in general popular nowadays it is not only the popularity of the genre that brought fame to Morchiladze. He is a very inventive author and is able to bring breath taking plots to short stories and to adorn them with postmodern elements at the same time. We can mention the book, სხვა (“The Other”, 2002) as an example. There are all the necessary essences of a good detective story inside – among others, for example, murderer, lover, cemetery, hotel, taxi driver. But, there is still one secret left - neither the characters nor the towns have names and the reader is not able to find out when and where the story is set, however, the author uses some allusions. When speaking about Morchiladze’s literary production we definitely cannot miss his first and probably most famous book, მოგზაურობა ყარაბაღში (“Journey to Karabakh”, 1992). This road movie shows the reader not only the absurdity of Caucasian conflicts, but also life’s unpredictability. Gio, young hero, decides to accompany his friend on the way to Azerbaijan. The purpose of the travel is clear – they want to buy Azerbaijani drugs. But, they get lost in the dark and they are arrested by Azerbaijani patrol on the border of Karabakh. Events unfold very fast and the inexperienced young men from Tbilisi are completely unprepared for the upcoming adventures. The novel was made into a film in 2004 and was translated into English in 2013. Other Morchiladze’s works are interesting as well. In some of them we can find, especially for European readers, very exotic environments – old Tbilisi or Georgian provinces. For example, in the book
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What´s On in Literary Life
What´s On in Literary Life Caucasus Literary Timeline
discuss, as well as to share their original pieces of poetry. The role of the poetesses in intercultural dialogue, feminism as a stream in literature and alternatives in literature were discussed within the forum. This event, supported by “Great Silk Way” International Youth Union, initiated an intercultural dialogue between women writers and raised awareness on non-traditional streams in literature.3 It was named The Best Cross-Border Project 2013 in Culture nomination by the Eastern Europe Initiatives Congress.
Kristína Ševečková* Workshop on Promotion of Literature in Translation Yerevan (Armenia), February 21 to 22 — a workshop, devoted to translations in Europe and the world today. Within the workshop the role of authors, translators, publishers and literary agents in promotion of literary works were discussed.1 Speakers and contributors from Germany, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, as well as Armenians were present at the event. Some of the Armenian participants included Aram Pachyan, Karen Antashyan Marine Petrosyan, Emin Mkrtchayn (Director of Zangak Publishing House), Literary agent, Arevik Ashkharoyan. The outcome of the workshop was a Declaration on Encouraging and Promoting Translations.2
XVI Tbilisi International Book Festival Tbilisi (Georgia), May 29 to 31 — one of the largest events in Georgia gathered a group of editors, literary agents and a great number of readers, as well as foreign visitors (writers from Norway, Germany, Canada, etc.) in Tbilisi. Special guests of the festival included the Famous Norwegian writer Erlend Loe, Georgian writer Nino Kharatishvili and Norwegian writer Stian Hole.4 An International Book Festival has been held since 1997 -- organised by Georgian Publishers and Booksellers Association and supported by The Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection.
2nd International forum of Young Poetesses Baku (Azerbaijan), March 7 to 9 — aimed at creating a space for young and talented artists from the countries historically connected with the cultural bound of the Silk Road to exchange and http://www.edu-active.com/camps/2014/feb/02/apply2nd-international-forum-young-poetesses-azer.html http://www.trend.az/life/socium/2144290.html [online] [27.9.2014] http://www.1news.az/society/20130429031139798.html [online] [27.9.2014] http://1news.az/society/20140311013503707.html [online] [27.9.2014] 4 Cf.: http://www.culture.gov.ge/topicdetals-11.12224.html
http://www.edu-active.com/camps/2014/feb/02/apply2nd-international-forum-young-poetesses-azer.html http://www.trend.az/life/socium/2144290.html [online] [27.9.2014] http://www.1news.az/society/20130429031139798.html [online] [27.9.2014] http://1news.az/society/20140311013503707.html [online] [27.9.2014] 4 Cf.: http://www.culture.gov.ge/topicdetals-11.12224.html
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Literary Forum and Dialogue for Publishers, Translators and Writers Tbilisi (Georgia), May 29 to 31 — publishers, translators, literary agents and writers from Germany, the UK, France, Hungary, and other foreign countries were invited for the Literary Forum in Tbilisi. The aim of this event was to arouse interest in Georgian literature, and to start a dialogue among them. Writers, translators and publishers discussed the trends in contemporary Georgian literature and situation within the book market in the country. There were debates about the problems with translating and promoting Georgian literature abroad, as well.5 The program of the Literary Forum included a visit to XVI Tbilisi International Book Festival. The participants of the forum also visited the biggest Georgian publishing houses: “Karchkhadze”, “Bakur Sulakauri”, “Diogene”, “Palitra L”, “Inteleqti” and “Siesta”.
Workshop on Creative Writing for Quality Reading Yerevan (Armenia), June 26 to 28 —a workshop whose aim was to support the reading of local Armenian literature via helping the writers in creating quality and interesting material for readers. Ten young writers (among them Aram Pachyan, Armen Ohanyan, Hovhannes Tekgyozyan, Hrachya Saribekyan, Lilit Karapetyan, Hovhannes Ishkhanyan) participated at this event. The trainers Viken Berberian and Laure Pecher introduced both the main theoretical aspects of writing a successful quality novel, and practical exercises and discussions. The workshop was held within the framework of the Book Platform Project in Armenia.7 SABA Literary Award Tbilisi (Georgia), July 12 — Georgia´s major literary award ceremony took place in its capital. The literary award was established in 2003 by TBC Bank and the Georgian Pen-club (cf. www.saba.com.ge). It is awarded annually, to the best novel, prosaic collection, collection of poems and plays, the best debut, the best literary critic, documentary prose, to translations into Georgian, and to special contributions to the development of Georgian literature; among all the literary works published the previous year. The winners of SABA 2014 are: „Laughter of Devi’s Wife“ by Lia Likokeli (Best Literary Debut – poetry), „Wisdom of Lie“ by Toresa Mossy (Best Literary Debut – prose), „Contemplations“ by Tamaz Kvachantiradze (Best Literary Criticism), „Glasses With
Day of Poets Baku (Azerbaijan), June 6 — many writers, literary critics, musicians, artists and diplomats from countries such as Turkey, Russia, Iran, came to Baku in order to celebrate the Day of Poets. Its date is connected with the day of birth of a famous Azerbaijani writer Mikayil Mushfig, who was one of the founders of new Azerbaijani poetry style. The event was organised by the Union of Poets.6 Participants recited their own poetry, as well as works of other authors, including Mikayil Mushfig´s ones.
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http://www.culture.gov.ge/topicdetals-11.12226.html [online] [27.9.2014] 6 Cf.: http://www.trend.az/life/culture/2282280.html 5
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Cf.: http://bookplatform.org/en/activities/856-creativewriting-for-quality-reading.html [online] [27.9.2014] http://literature.am/creative-writing-for-quality-reading/ [online] [27.9.2014]
What´s On in Literary Life
Tears“ by Gogi Gvakharia (Best Essay and Documentary Prose), Lewis Carroll´s „Alice in Wonderland“ translated by Giorgi Gokieli (Best Translation), „Plays“ by Davit Gabunia (Best Play), „A Story of A Bird and a Man“ by Archil Kikodze (Best Prosaic Collection), „Selling of a House“ by Eka Kevanishvili (Best Poetry Collection), „Form N100“ by Zviad Kvaratskhelia (Best Novel), Otar Chiladze´s „Avelumi“ translated by Donald Rayfield (Best Foreign Translation of a Georgian Literary work), Davit Tserediani (Award for Special Contribution to the Development of Literature).8
as well as presenting authors and their works to the public. The festival originated in 2001 and was followed by events in 2011, 2012, 2013. Within the Literary Ark festival writers present their works to the broad public, give lectures and do the readings and workshops, take part in different debates with contemporary Armenian writers. This year’s guests of the event are the renowned Polish writer Yanush Leon Vyshnevsky and the US-based British writer Meg Rosoff. Every year they publish an anthology of works that reflect the writers´ impressions of the festival and the country itself.12
Georgian Poetry Translation Workshop Tbilisi (Georgia), September 9 to 14 — poets and translators met at the workshop that was initiated by Literature across Frontiers, a European Platform for Literary Exchange9. The aim of the workshop was to produce English translations of selected pieces of Georgian poetry for an upcoming anthology Six Georgian Poets for the New Voices from Europe and Beyond series10. Participants of the workshop were six Georgian poets (Rati Amaglobeli, Shota Iatashvili, Gaga Nakhutsvrishvili, Lela Samniashvili, Irakli Charkviani and Maya Sarishvili) and a group of poets and translators from the UK11.
EU Culture Week Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Poti (Georgia), September 26 to October 5 — the largest European Cultural Festival aimed at promoting Europe through music, literature, cinema and arts to adults and children, as well (cf. www.euculture.ge). The program of EU Culture Week 2104 incorporated many reading sessions and public literature discussions with Georgian and European writers (e.g. with Diana Anthimiadou or Davit Turashvili), several open air concerts, film screenings and book fairs13. A program for children included
Literary Ark 2014 Yerevan (Armenia), September 18 to 28 — an international literary festival held in Armenia (cf. litark.am/ index.php). This annual event is aimed at the development of cooperation among writers from different countries, discussing problems in literatures and their possible solutions,
Cf.: http://www.tbcbank.ge/web/en/news1 http://www.lit-across-frontiers.org/ [online] [27.9.2014] 10 New Voices from Europe and Beyond series introduced the pieces of Finnish, Armenian and Catalan poetry so far, translated into English. 11 Cf.: http://www.britishcouncil.ge/en/events/poetrytranslation-workshop; http://www.lit-across-frontiers.org/new-poetry-anthologies -out-from-arc/ 12 Cf.: http://litark.am/index.php?al=history (history) http://litark.am/index.php?al=authors (participants); http://www.ng.ru/subject/2014-10-02/1_glavnaya.html 13 http://www.euculture.ge/#!tbilisi/c9fd [online] [27.9.2014] 8 9
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a reading session with Georgian writer Lasha Bughadze and David Gabunia, whereas public discussions about J. Joyce’s Ulysses, G. Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, S. Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children or E. M. Remarque’s Three Comrades were held, too.
representatives of culture and arts, as well as scientists participated at the celebration and discussed the author´s life and works, as well as his significant role in the development of the younger generation. They mentioned the high literary and aesthetic features in Ilkin’s works. They presented examples from the writer’s creativity, including fragments from his performances. An event was held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan.14
Celebration of 100th Anniversary of Gilman Ilkin Baku (Azerbaijan), October 2 — an event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the national poet. Various public figures,
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What´s On in Literary Life
Ali Akbar (Alekper Aliyev) – “Artush and Zaur”
society. However, there is a sufficient number of such works available on the Internet and, therefore, this theme itself will not bring originality or greater success. The second reason is the fact that (and this may be the basic cause of the fame of “Artush and Zaur”) the remarkable storyline of the two lovers also describes the process of flaring up, development and consequences of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over NagornoKarabakh. The author even dares to choose one of the heroes among Azerbaijanis, the second hero among Armenians. Taking into account the fact that the Karabakh war and hatred towards Armenia is not a closed chapter in Azerbaijani society, we may perceive Ali Akbar’s actions as a provocation similar to a red flag being waved in front of a bull.3 The third reason is that if a book has ambitions to become a bestseller, critics or at least the part of the specialized reading public, will devote their attention to it. People (contributors to patriotically-oriented blogs especially did not overlook the novel) started talking about “Artush and Zaur” (and started writing about it on the Internet) and perceived it only as the gay version of an older work, a novel entitled “Ali and Nino”4 written by Kurban Said. Some people think that the
Jaroslav Sommer* In 2009, Azerbaijani journalist, translator and author of several novels Ali Akbar1 attracted the attention of society when his new work “Artush and Zaur”2 appeared on the shelves of Ali and Nino bookstores. For several reasons, this novel was predicted to provoke a scandal, which it really did. This book stirred up the relatively calm waters of contemporary Azerbaijani literature. There are loads of reasons why Azerbaijani readers were outraged by the work, so the author and the publisher should have expected that publication of such a novel would not go unnoticed. The fact that those who usually do not read were involved in discussions about “Artush and Zaur” is not surprising either. The furor caused by the novel was even noticed abroad. The first reason is that the main characters of the novel are two homosexuals. In Muslim Azerbaijan this fact alone can arouse interest. A love story with a relatively great number of sexual encounters described in detail may be perceived as a provocation in a traditionally-minded society, especially if the novel often criticizes said homophobic
More information on Nagorno-Karabakh: De Waal, T. Černá zahrada: Arménie a Ázerbajdžán v míru a za války. Praha, Academia, 2012. Daniš, M., Rybár, L.: Dejiny Azerbajdžanu. Sládkovičovo, Vysoká škola Danubius, 2014 4 The novel “Ali and Nino” was first published in Vienna in 1937. Who is hiding behind the pseudonym Kurban Said is not still clear. The plot of the novel is set in World War I and describes the tragic relationship between a Muslim Azeri and an Christian Armenian girl. On May 30, 2008, an interview with author of “Artush and Zaur” on the upcoming novel was published on the portal Novosti-Azerbaijan. During this interview Akbar himself confirmed that his work is 15% based on the deconstruction of the novel “Ali and Nino”. The interview is available here: http://novosti.az/exclusive/20080530/42321598.html. 3
Jaroslav Sommer, Comenius University, Bratislava, sommer5@uniba.sk 1 The author can be found under the name Alekper Aliyev for example, he is a regular contributor on kultura.az. 2 The novel is available in Russian online version http://www.proza.ru/2010/09/11/998 - including the preface to the Russian edition written by Chingiz Guseynov. *
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novel is a poor imitation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. Some readers criticized the author’s uninteresting narrative style and the lack of any innovation from a literary point of view5. Of course, all the the negative reaction to the novel only increases the number of people who are aware of the novel and are potential readers. The fourth reason – and this one has to be taken into account – the author himself kept the novel in discussion and at the centre of attention. During interviews, he was pointing out the censorship practices of local organs of state power6 and he provoked the general public with his radical views concerning not only homosexuality and the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, but also the role of Russian-speaking people in Azerbaijan7. Queer literature often uses cliché storylines (there is a limited amount of literature describing heterosexual love stories) and the fact that the main couple is two gays does not really change the essence of the story. The authors showing LGBT relationships are mostly aware of it, so they do not even try to disguise the fact that the narrated story itself is not very surprising. The dynamism and originality of the plotline are provided by the circumstances of the birth and development of the relationship between two young men. This relationship flares up at the interface of several cultural circles – not only Azerbaijani and Armenian, but also Muslim and Christian, and European and Asian. This insertion of these aspects that are exotic to the current European reader makes the novel more gripping than it would otherwise be due to its schematism. Ali Akbar presents the novel as if it were a story described with documentary precision. This impression is reinforced by the usage of real characters and events that
are skillfully combined with the storyline of “Artush and Zaur”. On the other hand, this impression is disrupted by the relatively large number of homoerotic scenes, which indicate that the South Caucasus region is full of latent homosexuals and gays living in secrecy. Distrust invokes the final scene – a joint suicide – that is purely symbolic. However, the homophobia criticized by the author gives a more realistic impression. To illustrate, we may use the scene in which a woman curses his fifteen-year son, who was accused of affection towards a classmate. - That bastard is fifteen, but may he not live to be sixteen - Djeyran took out a handkerchief and began to wipe away the tears in her eyes. ... - Oh, oh how great is my grief - said Djeyran and again put the handkerchief to her eyes. ... - My God, I feel so ashamed. ... A mother thinks her son has betrayed her. She gave him all the care, looked after him and all she gets is frustration. Her life is ruined and she has to run away, because she has lost the respect of all the people around her. Djeyran agreed with Rushviya by nodding. - Yes, it is true, sister, I gave birth to the child, brought him up and raised him and, here you are, after all, he makes such an abomination! Does a mother expect this from her child? I am a teacher of mathematics in a high school. My son has studied there since the first class, I was keeping an eye on him. And now I am disgraced in the eyes the whole district, I feel so ashamed I cannot show up in school. - ... And I will stay with relatives in Baku, I cannot appear among the people of our district. I have to wait until everything is forgotten. And I also quit working. A woman is trying to find the cause of the homosexual behavior of her son and 32
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son, so raise him!8 As already mentioned, the novel is situated in time and space due to the numerous diversions showing some scenes of war over Nagorno-Karabakh and its consequences. In this regard, the author tries to be neutral and does not defend Azerbaijanis nor Armenians. The negative role in the war on Karabakh belongs primarily to the Russian army. The main heroes are separated during studies by the emerging conflict and, years later, they meet each other again at the conference which deals with the question of peace in the South Caucasus. In any case, the work emphasizes that the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh is a matter alive in the awareness of both nations and still current and unsolved.9 Ali Akbar alias Alekper Aliyev was accused by some of bloggers of publishing the tragic story of “Artush and Zaur” as purely a commercial move, because he is trying to gain fame and recognition. In the opinion of these bloggers, the writer compensates for the lack of talent with his scandalous novel. They did not forget to add some homophobic and xenophobic remarks. But the undeniable fact is that Akbar hit a nerve and until the atmosphere in the South Caucasus region is more tolerant and peaceful, the novel has a current message.
as a widow she thinks homosexuality is the consequence of the lack of the male element in raising him. An adequate sexual education of the boy is the responsibility of a father (according to this mother, sexual orientation is not inborn, but a question of education), and the mother, therefore, feels like a helpless victim of circumstances and an unfavorable fate. - So what, you don’t have a husband? ... - No, sister, no. ... If he were alive, probably nothing would have happened. The boy would be brought up properly. Rushviya tilted her head back and lamented: - Let him rest in peace, but it’s not true. The child should be decent. So your child is a bastard by nature, no offense. - Do not rub salt in a wound, sister, is that my fault? ... Not only is the woman ashamed in front of the people around her, but also the opinion of society is that she has failed completely as a mother. This does not change the fact that homosexuality appears because of bad upbringing. However, Azerbaijani society is changing; it is still strongly patriarchal and a father cannot take the full responsibility for it, much less a dead father: - How can you say “is that my fault?” Why did you give him birth, if you cannot bring him up? Why should others feel miserable? Especially the child, the boy. ... - But what could I do, sister?! - cried Djeyran. - It just happened. How was I supposed to know that my son would do it? ... - Why do you say so, sister? You must be fair. Why to blame the mother? - “Why to blame the mother”? - Rushviya exploded. - Why? You gave birth to your
http://www.proza.ru/2010/09/11/998 [online] [cit. 7.10.2014] 9 In addition to the expert studies on the war, this website may illustrate the nature of the relationship between these two nations. This website presents ideas against xenophobia: http://azerichild.info/about.html page. 8
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34
EaP Literature Abroad
EaP Literature Abroad On the Slovak Editon of “Moskoviada”
The story of “Moskoviada” as the book jacket says is a “horror novel” taking place in a sort of particular, and at the same time alternative, even virtually underground Moscow. We also say underground because the narrator “as if” identical with Andrukhovych gets to apparent denouement through half-secret, legendary Moscow underground, so called Stalinist metro line. Identity or rather camouflage of the author / narrator / the main character appears to rise from that peculiar Ukrainian beginning writer Otto von F. (“who has already successful publications” - p. 95) is a student (maybe) of the institution, that should bring up the USSR writers to be “engineers of human souls”. According to plans of nobility the writers should be “Soviet” by the importance of their texts and “national” by form. This institution was so called Maxim Gorky Literature Institute. For decades its existence, among its students and also teachers were many renowned and real writers, but also graphomaniacs or regime careerists. Probably not by accident, and not just because of the author’s personal experience, one of the subjects of the text becomes his own writing ... Andrukhovych clearly instructed by Russian and non-Russian postmodern literature thematizes the issues regarding the creation of writing in a complicated and fundamentally changing “Soviet” world at its end. One of the sub-themes that comes to the forefront is a “hot” relationship between Russia and the author’s homeland Ukraine (in the period of 1992), that does not simplify its artistic image of leaving the old world ...
Mária Kusá* At first glance, the title of this book - the novel / novella / story of “Moskoviada” – seemingly indicates that the book of World Prose edition published in Kalligram publishing house is a text of current Russian literature, but the truth is that this book comes from Ukrainian literature. Those Slovak readers acquainted with the situation in context of Central-Eastern European literature know that in this case Ukrainian provenance is indicated by the name of its, perhaps, the most famous and most translated author in recent years and as the text on the book’s jacket says: “.... Yurii Andrukhovych (1960) is a poet, translator, novelist, essayist and translator”, today the representative of the middle generation, that entered the scene of the literary world at the turn of epochs, seemingly on the frontier between two worlds – that is during the mid-80s of the 20th century. And exactly all of this is reflected in the text that is offered to Slovak readers in translation by Valerii Kupka (principally the author’s contemporary and translator of his other texts, e.g. “Vacationers”). *
Mária Kusá, Comenius University, Bratislava, maria.kusa@fphil.uniba.sk 35
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Despite the definition of this story as a “horror novel”, despite two dead people, who could have been saved by Otto von F., but he was not able to do it, despite the already mentioned dark situations (soft porn in the basement showers of the institute, the underground of the shop Detskij mir / Children’s world and its “sequel” as if cut right out of American horror movie), despite bizarre environments (apartment of the hero’s girlfriend Hala with lots of snakes as if outside space and time, enormous beer house without beer mugs and almost without beer) and finally despite the narrator’s attempts at ecstatic joy (alcohol and sex), this work resembles grotesque more than tragedy or horror story, that culminates into the final freak show and Bulgakov’s fantasy play resembling a “paradise of masks”. Andrukhovych does not deny the allusive relation to the Bible and other important texts of world literature, but especially to Russian literature of 19th (N. V. Gogol and etc.) and the 20th century (already mentioned M. Bulgakov, but also significantly Venedikt Yerofeyev with his Venichka from the text “Moscow-Petushki”, considered to be not only “the bible of Russian alcoholics …” The text “is complicated” by the fact that the main character is moving in two cultural areas - in Russian and Ukrainian, however in the text it is presented as only one – Moscow area. Ukraine is modelled as a place where the protagonist wants to get in, paradoxically Kiev means to him the famous Chekhov’s saying “To Moscow …”. Confused and chaotic motion of the narrator in Moscow really evokes the entire message of the legendary Venichka (Pars pro toto:
“Because drinking is also a kind of travelling. “ p. 149) and the trip of the Ukrainian writer should really end up in Kiev: “Because today I am not running away, I’m going back ... who the hell needs me ... I don’t even know ... important is to be alive tomorrow. Get to the station in Kiev. And don’t fall somewhere to god damn mother from this couchette on which my journey around the world is ending.” p. 197) as part of the regular “centre” of his universe. The author as a man at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, however, projected into the text his own questioning and relativisation of restricting focus on this (Ukrainian) area. Simply said, before us there is the text of the writer humanly and professionally maturing in the 1990s, the work of a European intellectual who is looking for his place in life as a writer, human, Ukrainian, European ... at the same time he is making fun of himself, creating the illusions for himself and others and at the same time breaking these illusions, because he is aware of their unsustainability and cruel misleading … In fact, Otto von F., like Yerofeyev’s Venichka, makes absolutely uncoordinated movements through Moscow, he is trying to get in his Ukrainian Petushki, because Moscow destroys him not only physically - alcoholic bender - but also mentally, especially through the failed attempts to have a relationship, often ending with random (African woman in the shower) or somehow problematic sex (relationship with an expert on snakes Hala already appears problematic when mentioning sadomasochistic practices, which are subsequently reflected in the plot and in her connection with the secret police). 36
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Otto von F. (author? or Andrukhovych?), moreover, needs to cope with phenomenon frequent in intellectual circles of the former Soviet bloc, and that is their own cooperation / non-cooperation with the KGB. The protagonist agrees on cooperation, because he is motivated by concerns about grandparents and the KGB blackmails him with his old activities. Individual threads of the story / stories are intertwined and unravel - principally it is really a kind of cut from the life of Moscow at the time of the biggest changes seen and perceived by human, who did not really create a relationship to it ... because of the circumstances mentioned and associated with Moscow. This type of text logically requires a special approach in its translation. In addition to the complexity of the author’s idiolect, reasons and nature of which we have tried to suggest, one of the fundamental problems, along with the basal Ukrainian language, is precisely the understandable use of Russian in a relatively broad spectrum of characters’ speaking. Apart from Russian, in the author’s speech occur certain clichés or even mangled or deformed German and English words (Fershteen? - p. 91, Das ist unmééglich. - p. 157), which are not frequent and, paradoxically, today clearer and understandable to Slovak readers. While translating Russian sentences, the translator worked logically with the fact that Russian is not available and understandable to the wider Slovak readership like in the past, and therefore all the long Russian dialogues are translated, and the reader can also read the original version in footnote. This approach is probably indisputable, in fact it maintains maximum aesthetic (taking into account mostly successful and equivalent solutions of colloquial, or sometimes even
vulgar words) as well as factual value for the informed and the uninformed reader. A special issue in translation are both real and artificially created names of geographic areas, the naming of members of nations and nationalities. The translator and editor (also well-experienced translator and translator’s wife Ivana Kupkova) had to cope with a tough nut to crack – apparently even the author worked deliberately with substandard and standard forms. Due to the complexity of the text no wonder that perhaps a bit more typing errors and incorrect cases or literally transferred word order remained in the Slovak translation. But the issue of text editing is primarily the task for publishing house – the publisher has to devote adequate time and use appropriate financial resources to do editing of high quality. On the other hand, it is very important that Kalligram has been doing praiseworthy work for several years. Editorial plans of this publisher contain the most interesting literature - different texts of “world literature”, also of English-speaking mainstream provenance. But texts like “Moskoviada” would certainly deserve a preface and epilogue, because the book jacket has a dominantly marketing function … Anyway, the Slovak reader is offered a difficult and attractive text with a number of authentic and convincing details that allow those who remember to revoke the area and time already “left”. The other readers are not allowed to think rationally so much about the breakup of the superpower like the Soviet Union and to feel the atmosphere of decay / decomposition even through the prism of Ukrainian intellectual, lost and forever searching for something. 37
Eastern Partnership Literary Review Vol. 1 (2014), No. 2
Some of the Best European Fiction from Eastern Partnership countries
(Georgia), Krikor Beledian (Armenia), Vitalie Ciobanu (Moldova) and Tania Malyarchuk (Ukraine). While reading Bugadzeʾs short story “The Sins of the Wolf” I thought of J. D. Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’, where the main character Holden Caulfield says: “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author who had written it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.”. So the narrator of Bugadzeʾs story, a popular writer is contacted by a girl infatuated with one of his book characters - Bakar Tukhareli, the Thief. She believes Bakar exists in real life and insists she needs to meet him. The trouble is that, the author cannot make her understand that he just made him up. We follow a dialogue between a naïve, gullible reader on the one side and an experienced, rational writer on the other. Yet, which one is crazy? He does not want to disappoint her, so he finally admits that Bakar is real.2 The baffling storyline of Beledianʾs “The Name Under My Tongue” begins in the middle of a conference the narrator is attending. It is just a stream of his consciousness, chain of his thoughts and observations. This is supported by the style Beledian chose, with sentences starting mid-way through, in lowercase letters. The narration is situated in an auditorium,
Ľubica Bezáková* Dalkey Archive press is a publishing house with its offices in the US, UK and Ireland. Its mission is to focus on publishing ‘the best literary books that can be found from around the world, regardless of sales potential.’ Annually, since 2010 they have published an anthology named ‘Best European Fiction’ which is a collection of best European short stories, diverse as Europe itself. The editor, Aleksandar Hemon writes in the introduction ‘Europe is nothing if not an intricate entanglement of languages, histories, borders, and varieties of human experience. It is not only complicated— culturally, intellectually, geographically— but is ever in the process of becoming increasingly more so.’ Special attention is paid to smaller countries, such as those of the former Soviet bloc, but also Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia and others, whose literature is often overlooked in favour of the major languages. I came across the 2013 edition1 where 32 countries were represented and among them also four authors from Eastern Partnership countries: Lasha Bugadze
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Ľubica Bezáková, Comenius University, Bratislava, lsecova@yahoo.com 1 Aleksandar Hemon: Best European Fiction 2013. Dalkey Archive press 2012, 463 p. *
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Bugadze (*1977) is not only a novelist, playwright, cartoonist and screenwriter, but also a producer and TV personality. For his drama “The Navigator” he won an award from the BBC International Radio Playwriting Competition, as well as the Literary Award “Saba” for Best Novel and Best Play of the Year.
EaP Literature Abroad
various lecturers giving speeches, the reality is mingled with the narrator’s memories from his student times. He remembers the student movement, the riots, the pretty girls, the tear gas... It is not easy to grasp the meaning of this story, but as the editor Aleksandar Hemon says in his introduction: “Pursuing meaning in literature is the meaning of literature”.3 Ciobanuʾs short story “Orchestra Rehearsal” takes place in Soviet Moldova during the communist era, where Aristide, a young member of a university ensemble is trying to live his life peacefully. His musical talent ensures him a certain level of freedom. Nonetheless, he is being watched by the authorities, he is advised not to read nationalist literature and not to distribute it. He does not want to be obedient to the regime and quietly manifests his opposition. He stops practicing, until he finds out about the ensemble’s upcoming performance in Italy. He rejoins the ensemble and decides to use this opportunity to emigrate.4 Funny yet sad is Malyarchukʾs short story “Me and My Sacred Cow”, which is, in my opinion, one of the best tales in the 2013 edition of Best European Fiction. It starts by: “I hated my cow and she hated me.” This is the kind of story that makes you feel a range of emotions while reading it: amusement, disgust, pity, sorrow. In the
grotesque and absurd world where young Tania lives, her cow, a deaf-mute friend, or even a dead person can speak. Tania is tending her grandma’s cow, a crazy cow Daisy. The dynamic description of everyday scenes Tania is going through takes us with her to her grandmother’s village, where every inhabitant suffers some kind of misfortune. She has friends among the villagers and tells us their bizarre stories. The misery is compensated with laughter.5
Szláv Textus Andrej Kállay*
The Hungarian electronic journal and blog focuses on the literary and cultural life of the entire Slavic area. The aim of the blog founders - editors and all young Slavists, specialists in specific countries and regions of the mentioned area - was to zoom in the “lesser-known” contemporary literature of Slavic nations and make it available to Hungarian readers during the period when the book market is mainly dominated by the literature of western countries. The only exceptions are some famous titles of big writers like Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Malyarchuk (*1983) is considered one of Ukraine’s most talented young prose writers. Her short stories and essays have been translated into Polish, Romanian, German, English, Russian, and Belarusian. Awarded by the “Kristal Vilenica 2013” (Slovenia) and the Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski Literary Prize 2013. * Andrej Kállay, Comenius University, Bratislava, kallayandras@gmail.com 5
Beledian (*1948) teaches Armenian Studies at the Université Catholique de Lyon and the Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales in Paris. Author of six novels and multiple volumes of critical essays and poetry. 4 Ciobanu (*1964), a novelist, essayist, literary critic is currently president of the Moldova PEN Centre and editor-in-chief of Contrafort literary magazine. 3
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Eastern Partnership Literary Review Vol. 1 (2014), No. 2
Vladimir Nabokov and Dubravka Ugresic. The editors have set several goals: to introduce prose and poetry in translation, to publish the interviews, literary studies, reviews, critiques, but also interviews with authors; to inform readers and other interested people and potential enthusiasts of Slavic cultures about the events of the literary and cultural life (music, film, concerts, theatre, exhibitions) of the given area; to overcome the traditional division of Slavic nations and to introduce young authors without any categorisation and classification. This journal works with cultural Slavic institutions of countries operating in Hungary, with other Hungarian and foreign literary magazines and portals. Regarding the literature and cultural life of the Eastern Partnership, obviously, only Ukrainian and Belarusian literatures are presented. In the case of Belarusian literature, it is mainly the literature in translation. The journal publishes the extracts of writers such as Artur Klinov, Siarhiej Dubaviec or Sokrat Janowicz (in translation of our project partner Lajos Pálfalvi), interviews with other authors and artists such as Ihar Babkou, Vladimir Tsesler, Uladzimir Niakliaeu, but also studies and short reports on Belarusian book titles. The range of articles on Ukrainian literature and culture is greater – besides the translations of extracts of works by Serhiy Zhadan, Mykola Ryabchuk or Ostap Slyvynsky, the reader may find foreign studies in translation, articles on the music scene (DahaBraha) or Ukrainian Christmas customs and traditions, reports on theatre performances, exhibitions and on current Ukrainian events too.
The journal Szláv Textus offers a rich selection of extracts, shorter texts, translations of contemporary Slavic literature and culture, and an excellent starting point for those who are interested in this area. It is available at szlavtextus.blog.hu (for full enjoyment of reading, knowledge of Hungarian is required).
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The Eastern Partnership Literary Review is devoted to problems of literary process, literary life and book culture in the post-soviet area, especially in Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). It is a forum for academicians, writers and university students and the only journal in the field published within V4 countries. It has an international readership and subscribers. All articles submitted to EaPLR are subject to blind refereeing. The journal maintains an online archive.
EPLR welcomes manuscripts in English. Since the journal is made possible by «Eastern Partnership Literary Award» project, all authors are kindly requested to join the blog of the project www.veapla.blogspot.sk.
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically (sent as an e-mail attachment in MS Word or RTF format). Articles normally should not exceed 10 pages in length (including footnotes). Book reviews and reports should not exceed 3 pages. If the article is accompanied by images, the authors are requested to arrange permissions with image providers, and we ask for copies of permissions for our files prior to publication.
All manuscripts should be addressed to: Katedra rusistiky a východoeurópskych štúdií Filozofická fakulta Univerzity Komenského Gondova 2 814 99 Bratislava SLOVAKIA E-mail: veapla@veapla.eu