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1. Why Slavic literature and what are your favorites?
I'll lay the responsibility squarely on Dostoevsky, because he was the first major figure of the Slavic canon I encountered. (No doubt sometime earlier I read some Russian scifi.) When I was fifteen, I read Crime & Punishment in two days. My mother owned a battered paperback copy and it's on my bookshelf now. It was so utterly different from things I had read previously, and something about the epic scope of one life captivated me. I thought it was the most beautiful and amazing thing. I was already interested in Russian history and had a latent fascination with Communist societies, so it was not far to leap into Slavic literature.
From Dostoevsky, I moved onto other imperial era writers like Tolstoy, Gogol and Lermontov. In college I picked up the modern writers such as Nabokov, Biely and Voinovich. Then I started exploring the other Slavic countries. In Prague I fell in love with Skvorecky because he wrote some of the most wrenching prose and it was so real I felt like my life disappeared. I stayed up all night again, and I cried when he talked about the invasion of 1968 and the Prague Spring.
Most of the work I've studied has been Russian and Czech. I'm expanding into the literature of other Slavic nations, searching for the parallels and the seperations.
Some of my favorites:
Crime & Punishment, and Demons by Dostoevsky
St Petersburg by Andre Biely
The Fur Hat by Vladimir Voinovich
Tha Master & Margarita by Bulgakov
The Miracle Game, The Engineer of Human Souls, Tankovy Prapor (The Republic of Whores) and When Eve was Naked by Josef Skvorecky
No Saints or Angels, by Ivan Klima
Death & The Penguin by Andre Kurkov
The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov
Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera
2. Your profile has that interesting quote about southern women. Some of us in the north have bad feelings about Texas, so what are some wonderful things about the place?
I think Texas' greatest strength comes from it's size. It's bigger than France after all. Inside those boundaries, we have dramatic differences in ethnic makeup, food, festivals, towns and cities. You can drive all day and still be here. We have big cities full of industry and bustle and thriving art scenes. We have tiny sleepy towns, where all the teenagers end up at the Dairy Queen at ten in the evening. It's hard to generalize about Texas, because it's so varied. We have wide open skies, dusty cotton fields, piney woods, wide rivers, shining skyscrapers, massive multilane freeways and winding farm to market roads. Anywhere you drive, you can find incredible little restaraunts that showcase every variety of Mexican and Tex-Mex food possible and everyone has iced tea.
I feel that despite the negative perceptions and examples to the contrary, people in Texas are kind. We fight for what we believe, we protect each other and woe unto those who would hurt the people or things we love. We teach each other to be strong.
3. Of all the places you visited, which did you like best?
Of everywhere I've been, I love Prague the best. I felt connected to the history of the world when I walked in those streets. The weight of the stones and sky, all the things old and new, the smell of the air made me feel as if I had never lived another life. It is a magical city and it did save my life just like Hana promised.
4. Religious/spiritual/atheistical thoughts?
I grew up in an atheist household, converted to Catholicism and now I suppose I'm a lapsed Catholic. It's hard to say what I believe. I want to believe, but I'm very much like Thomas and I don't think I will find my faith until it's right in front of me. Sometimes I can almost convince myself it's real.
5. Favorite foods?
Oh, what a list! I am certain I will leave out at least a few. In no paticular order:
pie, sushi & sashimi, quiche, kolache, fresh made salsa, flautas, lamb korma, dumplings of all kinds, tomatoes, dinner rolls, Cheetos, scallops, seared ahi tuna, grapefruit sorbet, bagel lox, breakfast tacos, fried pickles, berries, guacamole, migas, french toast, peppermints, chocolate mousse, truffles, almonds, pizza with pepperoni and anchovies, shrimp, Reeses peanut butter cups, fettucine alfredo, coffee ice cream
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Comment if you want questions
I'll lay the responsibility squarely on Dostoevsky, because he was the first major figure of the Slavic canon I encountered. (No doubt sometime earlier I read some Russian scifi.) When I was fifteen, I read Crime & Punishment in two days. My mother owned a battered paperback copy and it's on my bookshelf now. It was so utterly different from things I had read previously, and something about the epic scope of one life captivated me. I thought it was the most beautiful and amazing thing. I was already interested in Russian history and had a latent fascination with Communist societies, so it was not far to leap into Slavic literature.
From Dostoevsky, I moved onto other imperial era writers like Tolstoy, Gogol and Lermontov. In college I picked up the modern writers such as Nabokov, Biely and Voinovich. Then I started exploring the other Slavic countries. In Prague I fell in love with Skvorecky because he wrote some of the most wrenching prose and it was so real I felt like my life disappeared. I stayed up all night again, and I cried when he talked about the invasion of 1968 and the Prague Spring.
Most of the work I've studied has been Russian and Czech. I'm expanding into the literature of other Slavic nations, searching for the parallels and the seperations.
Some of my favorites:
Crime & Punishment, and Demons by Dostoevsky
St Petersburg by Andre Biely
The Fur Hat by Vladimir Voinovich
Tha Master & Margarita by Bulgakov
The Miracle Game, The Engineer of Human Souls, Tankovy Prapor (The Republic of Whores) and When Eve was Naked by Josef Skvorecky
No Saints or Angels, by Ivan Klima
Death & The Penguin by Andre Kurkov
The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov
Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera
2. Your profile has that interesting quote about southern women. Some of us in the north have bad feelings about Texas, so what are some wonderful things about the place?
I think Texas' greatest strength comes from it's size. It's bigger than France after all. Inside those boundaries, we have dramatic differences in ethnic makeup, food, festivals, towns and cities. You can drive all day and still be here. We have big cities full of industry and bustle and thriving art scenes. We have tiny sleepy towns, where all the teenagers end up at the Dairy Queen at ten in the evening. It's hard to generalize about Texas, because it's so varied. We have wide open skies, dusty cotton fields, piney woods, wide rivers, shining skyscrapers, massive multilane freeways and winding farm to market roads. Anywhere you drive, you can find incredible little restaraunts that showcase every variety of Mexican and Tex-Mex food possible and everyone has iced tea.
I feel that despite the negative perceptions and examples to the contrary, people in Texas are kind. We fight for what we believe, we protect each other and woe unto those who would hurt the people or things we love. We teach each other to be strong.
3. Of all the places you visited, which did you like best?
Of everywhere I've been, I love Prague the best. I felt connected to the history of the world when I walked in those streets. The weight of the stones and sky, all the things old and new, the smell of the air made me feel as if I had never lived another life. It is a magical city and it did save my life just like Hana promised.
4. Religious/spiritual/atheistical thoughts?
I grew up in an atheist household, converted to Catholicism and now I suppose I'm a lapsed Catholic. It's hard to say what I believe. I want to believe, but I'm very much like Thomas and I don't think I will find my faith until it's right in front of me. Sometimes I can almost convince myself it's real.
5. Favorite foods?
Oh, what a list! I am certain I will leave out at least a few. In no paticular order:
pie, sushi & sashimi, quiche, kolache, fresh made salsa, flautas, lamb korma, dumplings of all kinds, tomatoes, dinner rolls, Cheetos, scallops, seared ahi tuna, grapefruit sorbet, bagel lox, breakfast tacos, fried pickles, berries, guacamole, migas, french toast, peppermints, chocolate mousse, truffles, almonds, pizza with pepperoni and anchovies, shrimp, Reeses peanut butter cups, fettucine alfredo, coffee ice cream
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Comment if you want questions