Welcome to Contemporary Russian Literature at the University of Virginia. Contemporary Russian Literature project was launched in Summer 2011. The idea was initiated by a group of Slavic specialists and graduate students at the University of Virginia who shared a deep interest in Russian literature. They included Greg Tilton Jr., now a filmmaker in New Orleans; Dr. Elena Dimov, then a Slavic specialist at the UVA Library and UVA lecturer; Bud Woodward, then acquisitions specialist at the UVA Library; Prof. Margarita Nafpaktitis, now curator for Slavic and East European collections at Stanford; and then graduate student Michael Marsh-Soloway, now professor of Slavic studies at the University of Richmond.
The goal of this ongoing project is to introduce the works of modern Russian writers to readers, students, and scholars who are interested in learning about what is happening in the exciting world of modern Russian literature. The changing publishing landscape in Russia and Russia’s entry into the modern literary world has created an unprecedented challenge for readers of Russian literature – the emergence of many talented Russian writers who were previously unknown. Their names are just beginning to be recognized by Western readers, but the size and quality of the new literary wave from Russia exceeds all expectations. It is difficult to speculate whether the emergence of these new talents will match the literary genius of the past, but it is obvious that the fresh, new voices of the younger generation of Russian poets and writers have become much more visible today. Our goal is to make their names known to the university community and to arouse the interest of all generations of readers, as well as to provide examples of new Russian literature. We hope that this site will become a place where readers can find translations and reviews of the works of modern Russian writers.
The partnership with UVA’s Sciences, Humanities & Arts Network Technological Initiatives (SHANTI), now integrated with the UVA Contemplative Sciences Center, provided valuable support and guidance in the early stages. For those subscribers who read us on the SHANTI Pages, we confirm that the site has been migrated to a new host server after the SHANTI project was discontinued at the end of 2020. It also reflects the UVA Slavic Department’s current lack of interest in new Russian literature.
For more information about UVA’s collection of contemporary Russian literature, or to submit translations and reviews, please contact Dr. Dimov or Dr. Michael Marsh-Soloway, University of Richmond.
Disclaimer
Excerpts from original works, translations and photographs published on this site are for educational and non-commercial use only.
Quotations from the texts, articles, translations and other material published on this website may only be used if the author is acknowledged.
The website uses photos from the free online library on the Pexels site.
© 2015-2024 Elena Dimov / Contemporary Russian Literature /
