15 April, 1.00 pm, Pushkin House, 5A Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA
15 April 2013
1-2 pm
Literary Matrix: Writers on Writers. Oleg Pavlov on Andrei Platonov
with Robert Chandler
Oleg Pavlov is one of the most highly-regarded Russian authors working
today, writing in the tradition of novelists such as Dostoevsky and
Solzhenitsyn. Born in Moscow in 1970, Pavlov spent his military
service as a prison guard in Kazakhstan - this formative experience
later influenced many incidents portrayed in his fiction. He later
became Solzhenitsyn?s secretary and was inspired to continue the great
writer?s work. He was only 24 years old when his first novel, Captain
of the Steppe, was published; it is published in English in April (And
Other Stories). This blackly comic novel shows the unsettling
consequences of thinking for yourself under the Soviet system and was
immediately praised for its chilling but humane and hilarious
depiction of the Soviet empire?s last years.
His other novel Asystole is a modern, deeply thoughtful and heartfelt
examination of the physics of the human soul. All Pavlov?s novels have
been acclaimed by the critics and readers alike and have been
recognised by major literary awards such as the Russian Booker and
Solzhenitsyn Prizes.
Oleg Pavlov will talk about life and work of Andrey Platonov, one of
Russia?s greatest 20th-century prose
writers. Platonov?s most famous works include the novels The
Foundation Pit and Chevengur. Platonov?s
incomparable language style is noted for its unusual linguistic
constructions, which create a unique
atmosphere in his prose. He will be in conversation with Robert
Chandler, Platonov's main English translator.
Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD
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