At Sampsonia Way Rachel Bullen has a Q & A with 'Ukrainian Journalist Andrey Kurkov' -- i.e. the Russian-writing novelist, author of Death and the Penguin and much else.
He notes the differences between the Russian and Ukrainian literary scenes and establishments:
He notes the differences between the Russian and Ukrainian literary scenes and establishments:
Russian literature is just a continuation of classical Russian literature and Soviet literature. There was no gap between Soviet literature and Post-Soviet literature. The same writers who became famous in the 1980s are still classics. Russian literature is also an important part of the establishment. In Ukraine, nobody cares about literature.Kurkov also notes:
The main problem for Ukrainian writers is getting their books published in English. Apart from me, there's probably a few books published in America and Canada by other Ukrainian writers.(He also mentions Yuri Andrukhovych, several of whose works are under review at the complete review, such as Perverzion.)