The Slavic Literature Pod

Note: This episode originally aired in January 2024. Matt and Cameron are taking a much needed break this August and wanted to re-up some mid-series Life and Fate episodes they thought deserved more attention.Pick up a copy of Ochre & Rust from Green Linden Press’ website.Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron tackle some of the work of Sergey Gandlevsky, translated by Philip J. Metres and collected in Ochre & Rust. Tune in to hear more about one of Russia’s most celebrated modern poets, self-described outsider who drifted around the edges of the USSR (and, later, the Russian Federation) and cataloged his thoughts and experiences in his poems. Philip Metres is a poet, scholar, translator, essayist, and peacebuilder. He is the author of twelve books, including Fugitive/Refuge (2024), Ochre & Rust: New Selected Poems of Sergey Gandlevsky (2023), Shrapnel Maps (2020), The Sound of Listening: Poetry as Refuge and Resistance (2018), and Sand Opera (2015). His work has garnered fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Watson Foundation. He has been awarded the Adrienne Rich Award, three Arab American Book Awards, the Cleveland Arts Prize, and the Hunt Prize. Philip has been called “one of the essential poets of our time,” whose work is “beautiful, powerful, magnetically original.” He is professor of English and director of the Peace, Justice, and Human Rights program at John Carroll University. He is also Core Faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts.  You can find more from Philip on his website and see some other links he’s shared on his linktree. Major themes: Prodigious drinking, After the USSR’s dissolution, Andrei Bolkonsky returnsThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Note: This episode originally aired in April 2024. Matt and Cameron are taking a much needed break this August and wanted to re-up some mid-series Life and Fate episodes they thought deserved more attention.You can pick up a copy of Dr. Maya Vinokour’s book Work Flows: Stalinist Liquids in Russian Labor Culture here. Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron sit down with Dr. Maya Vinokour to talk about her book Work Flows: Stalinist Liquids in Russian Labor Culture and touch on Daniil Kharms’ short story “How the Old Woman Tried to Buy Ink.” Dr. Vinokour is Assistant Professor in the Department of Russian & Slavic Studies at New York University and the author of Work Flows: Stalinist Liquids in Russian Labor Culture. Her interests include Stalinism and Nazism, late-Soviet science fiction, post-Soviet media, and the global Far Right. She recently published an article in Jacobin on a phenomenon she calls "lifestyle fascism."Major themes: Flow, cosmic symbology, energy reserves39:45 - “How the Old Woman Tried to Buy Ink” by Daniil KharmsThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:They said it couldn’t be done; they said it was too much work; they say it was simply too much Grossman. (The ‘they’ here is Matt and Cameron, to be clear). This week, more than 7 months after starting their Life and Fate series, Matt and Cameron proved them (us) wrong by covering Chapters 49 through 61 of Part 3. It’s time to say goodbye to characters we’ve followed across nearly 900 pages (or around 1700 pages if you also read Stalingrad), with many of them going out on notes both painful and poignant. But the novel’s end does not imply the end of Grossman’s characters — you’ll get what we mean soon enough. Major themes: Bureaucracy, Stalingrad, the meaning of Life and FateThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Buy this book with our affiliate links on ⁠Bookshop⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠!Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron stay in Stalingrad to the bitter end, covering Chapters 19 to 48 in Part 3 of Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate. Stalin’s phone calls, the 6th Army’s surrender, and senseless kindness oh my! It’s all coming together. Get your horsemeat and get ready to tune in.Major themes: Unrewarded kindness, family ties, the State and the individualThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron dive into the 1924 film Aelita, directed by Yakov Protazanov, to learn more about very early Soviet sci-fi, New Economic Policy anxiety, and Martian socialist revolution. It’s the most fun you didn’t know you could have with a silent film. Get your plans for your rocket ship, write “Anta Odeli Uta” on your window, and tune in!Major themes: Is popular media art?, Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Missing Sugar, 12:51 - Cinema and Soviet Society: From the Revolution to the Death of Stalin by Peter Kenez16:38 - “Women as Princesses or Comrades: Ambivalence in Yakov Protazanov’s ‘Aelita’ “ by Peter ChristensenThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron return to the salt mines of Reddit to address some of the internet’s most asked questions, such as “Can atheists understand Dostoevsky?” and “Does Crime and Punishment ever get interesting?” Alongside that, they’ll also be talking about some novels and works they’d like to cover but don’t work with the normal format.Major themes: Pierre winky face, Dostoevsky and atheists, Laurus29:08 - We all make mistakes in the heat of passion, Jimbo. The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron finish the encirclement of Paulus’ 6th Army in Stalingrad as they cover Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate from Part 2, Chapter 51 through Part 3, Chapter 18. After fighting from the back foot for months — exhausting all those still on the front line, civilian and soldier alike — it’s time for the USSR to swing two great hammers down into the fascist forces. Despite their victory, all is not well for the Red Army.Major themes: Madonna and babe, redemptive humanism, gossip29:08 - We all make mistakes in the heat of passion, Jimbo. The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron get into Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s recently published collection of short stories “The Body of the Soul.” In particular, they’ll be covering “The Dragon and the Phoenix,” “A Man in a Mountainous Landscape,” and “Woof-woof.” They’ll be getting into the dynamics of building communities, death as a part of life, and the immaterial emotions we tie into our toys. Major themes: Death, dogs, the essential immortality of the soulThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Show Notes:This week, Matt and Cameron take a trip into the stacks to review and -- more importantly -- rank their back catalogue. Everything from Gogol's "The Nose" to Life and Fate, they'll be putting it under the microscope and giving you their thoughts on where it falls from S-tier to F-tier (which, of course, stands for: 'What were we f'ing thinking?). Plus you'll get some insight into every time they almost ended the podcast. Major themes: reflection, tier lists, angry listener feedback29:08 - We all make mistakes in the heat of passion, Jimbo. The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at slaviclitpod@gmail.com or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Covering thoughts shared by some of our listeners on our Discord and on social media about Part 2, Chapter 49 of Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate. You can read our post about the chapter here.If you haven't already signed up to get daily emails reflecting on each chapter of Life and Fate, you can do so on our website.Be sure to follow us on Instagram and join our Discord to participate in the discussion.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands