Authors
Sarah Gear1; 1 University of Exeter, UK Discussion
Through both their advocacy and their art, translators allow foreign texts, and by extension foreign writers, to exist abroad. This zhiznetvorchesto, or synthesis between life and art, is two-directional. While translators create a new linguistic incarnation of their writer, they also craft an artistic persona for themselves, using the symbolic capital gained in the process of consecration to establish their careers. This presentation will explore Max Lawton’s translations of Vladimir Sorokin’s work as a form of zhiznetvorchesto for both author and translator. The so-called ‘Sorokinaissance’ launched in 2022 with Dalkey Archive and NYRB Classics’ publication of Their Four Hearts and Telluria respectively, marked the beginning of a plan to bring all of Sorokin’s work into English, with Sugar Kremlin, Blue Lard, The Norm, Roman and Marina’s Thirtieth Love all translated by Lawton, and all due to be published over the next five years. Lawton alone has been credited with leading this renewed interest in Sorokin. His efforts to shape Sorokin’s Western persona as a Russian literary heavyweight and dissident writer have been as effective in this process as his author-approved translations. Drawing from interviews with Lawton, alongside an analysis of his translation strategies, and online presence through twitter, podcasts and blogs, I will explore the life-giving capacities of a translator, and the value of their reach in shaping cultural exchanges. 
