I’m currently at the 14th International Dostoevsky Symposium in Naples, which started this morning. I missed the opening sessions so don’t have a great deal to report yet except to say that the surroundings in the Palazzo Du Mesnil are really rather sumptuous, and they provided us with a very fine lunch, for which I […]
Live from Naples
Posted by Sarah Young on June 14, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/06/14/live-from-naples/
Soviet jokes
The book I’ve been reading for fun over the last few days could, for once, actually be described as fun: Ben Lewis, Hammer and Tickle: A History of Communism Told Through Communist Jokes (2008). Actually, it isn’t that funny, partly because analyses of humour never are (the worst research seminar I’ve ever been to was […]
Posted by Sarah Young on June 10, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/06/10/soviet-jokes/
The Crocodile and the Crystal Palace: a whimsy
Some of the best ideas are destined never to make it into print. They’re usually the ‘wouldn’t it be great if…’ ideas, that you know probably aren’t true, and even if they are, there’s no way you’re ever going to prove them. At the same time you don’t want to let them go altogether. And […]
Posted by Sarah Young on June 5, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/06/05/the-crocodile-and-the-crystal-palace-a-whimsy/
Dickens and anti-Semitism
Now I’ve finished reading Oliver Twist, I can say for certain that the depiction of Fagin is undoubtedly the most problematic aspect of the novel. It is widely known to be a graphic example of anti-Semitism, but even so, it’s quite shocking. I say this as someone who’s used to reading Dostoevsky, but I would […]
Posted by Sarah Young on June 1, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/06/01/dostoevsky-dickens-and-anti-semitism/
Summer reading
The exam season is more or less over, my marking marathon is finished, and one of the things I always look forward to at this time of year is being able to read intelligent books for fun. First up is my annual Dickens fix, and this time I’m reading Oliver Twist. This was the book […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 27, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/27/summer-reading/
Grossman events
Three events in June: Monday 7 June, 6.30pm, Free Word Centre: Robert Chandler talking about Vasily Grossman. Tuesday 15 June, 7.3opm, Pushkin House: Robert Chandler reading from his translation of Everything Flows, and discussing Grossman with Yekaterina Korotkova-Grossman (the author’s daughter). Sunday 20 June, 2pm, British Museum, Stevenson Room: Yekaterina Korotkova-Grossman talks to Robert Chandler about […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 24, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/24/grossman-events/
Imagining St Petersburg
I’ve finally got round to reading Solomon Volkov’s St Petersburg: A Cultural History (Simon & Schuster, 1995). I’ve felt a bit ashamed that I haven’t managed to read it before, but since I reached the half-way point I’ve changed my mind about how important it is, for me at least. It mainly deals with twentieth-century […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 20, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/20/imagining-st-petersburg/
Dostoevsky and Holbein
I have a new publication, but unfortunately I fear that most of my readers will be as incapable of reading it as I am: ‘“Hakuchi” to Holbein “Hakano nakano Kirisuto”,’ Gendai Shiso, 38.4 (2010), 298-307. That’s ‘Holbein’s Christ inthe Tomb in The Idiot‘, translated by Kyohei Norimatsu (to whom many thanks) in a special Dostoevsky issue […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 15, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/15/dostoevsky-and-holbein/
Four short links: Russian avant-garde
Not exactly my speciality, but it will keep a certain someone happy. 1. Architecture and the Russian Avant-Garde: a decent collection of videos on YouTube on the Russian avant-garde of the 1910s and 20s, mainly covering visual arts — Malevich, Tatlin and Rodchenko are particularly well represented. 2. Tango with Cows: really interesting site connected with […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 12, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/12/four-short-links-russian-avant-garde/
Merthyr Tydfil: the cradle of civilization
Merthyr Tydfil is one of my other interests, because of family connections and most importantly a great-great-uncle, D.B. Davies, who played rugby league for Merthyr and Wales in the early 1900s. (D.B. stands for Dai ‘Brecon Road’ Davies, to distinguish him from the other Dai Davies on the Merthyr team; here are some old photos […]
Posted by Sarah Young on May 9, 2010
https://sarahjyoung.com/site/2010/05/09/merthyr-tydfil-the-cradle-of-civilization/