DLCL Writer in Residence Vladimir Sorokin
VLADIMIR SOROKIN (b. 1955) is the “resident genius” of late-Soviet and contemporary Russian fiction. One of the leaders of the Moscow underground scene of the 1980s, he continues to challenge dominant ideologies. His shockingly imaginative experimental texts, which were completely banned during the Soviet period, comprise a set of profound statements on the novelistic genre. His novel The Queue, for instance, depicts one of everyone's “favorite” Soviet pastimes – waiting in line – and consists solely of snatches of conversation, roll calls, jokes, howls of rage, and amorous moans.
His recent novel, Day of the Oprichnik, is a haunting, absurd and terrifying vision of Russia in 2028. This is a place dominated by futuristic technology, a draconian “divine monarch,” and members of an elite who get high on hallucinogenic, genetically modified fish. The narrative follows the strange life and times of Andrei Danilovich Komiaga, a fearsome oprichnik (the term refers to the medieval prototype of the Soviet KGB and the Russian FSB), and culminates in an excessive and darkly humorous scene depicting a KGB orgy.
Works in English
- Ice (New York Review Books Classics, 2007)
- The Queue (New York Review Books Classics, 2008)
- Day of the Oprichnik: A Novel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011)
- The Ice Trilogy (New York Review Books Classics, 2011)
Vladimir Sorokin Reception
Tuesday, October 18, 3:30pm
Oregon Courtyard (near Building 260)
Open only to Stanford Students and Faculty
Vladimir Sorokin Public Reading
Wednesday, October 19, 5:15pm
Pigott Hall (Bldg. 260) 113
Ilya Kabakov & Vladimir Sorokin
‘A Conceptual Dialogue’ convened by Nariman Skakov
Wednesday, October 26, 5:15pm
Levinthal Hall, Stanford Humanities Center
Co-sponsored by the Stanford Humanities Center
Vladimir Sorokin
Graduate Workshop ‘Русское как образ/Russianness as Image’ (conducted in Russian, closed to the general public)
November 2, 2011
Because the number of places is limited, we invite applications from graduate students who would like to attend either or both of the workshops. Applicants should send a 1-page statement and CV to Nariman Skakov, Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures (nariman.skakov [at] stanford.edu (nariman[dot]skakov[at]stanford[dot]edu)). Those selected will be responsible for their own travel arrangements and accommodation.
Vladimir Sorokin
Graduate Workshop 'Oprichnina' (conducted in Russian, closed to the general public)
November 9, 2011
Because the number of places is limited, we invite applications from graduate students who would like to attend either or both of the workshops. Applicants should send a 1-page statement and CV to Nariman Skakov, Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures (nariman.skakov [at] stanford.edu (nariman[dot]skakov[at]stanford[dot]edu)). Those selected will be responsible for their own travel arrangements and accommodation.
Screening of Target (2010), directed by Alexander Zeldovich, script by Vladimir Sorokin
Discussants: Alexander Zeldovich, Vladimir Sorokin, Gregory Freidin (Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Stanford), Tom Luddy (Co-Director, Telluride Film Festival)
Thursday, November 10, 6:00pm
Braun Corner (Bldg. 320), Room 105
Co-sponsored by Film and Media Studies