Writers

Irina Muravyova

Born: 1952

Quick Study: Irina Muravyova is a writer and editor whose fiction often focuses on Russian history and its effects on regular peoples’ lives.

The Muravyova File: Irina Muravyova is a Russia émigré writer whose poetry, essays, and fiction have been published in numerous “thick” journals in Russia and the U.S. Muravyova’s novel The Angel’s Day covers three generations of Russian émigrés, drawing on favorite themes of family and history; her Young Lady, a Bunin Prize finalist, takes place in the early twentieth century. Muravyova’s 2012 novel, Beatrice’s Reflection, borrows from Dante’s life in its depiction of love at first sight.

Psssst………: Muravyova has also translated German- and English-language poetry into Russian, taught Russian at Harvard, and co-authored two articles about Pushkin.

Muravyova’s Places: Moscow: born, studied philology at Moscow State University. U.S.: emigrated in 1985, received PhD at Brown University.

The Word on Muravyova: The Moscow Times praised Muravyova’s collection The Nomadic Soul, calling it, “a richly suggestive blend of prose and poetry, tirelessly jumping back and forth in time and place and begging multifold connections with the present that remains poignantly unclarified.”

Muravyova on Muravyova and Writing: When asked in an interview how close she feels to her characters, Muravyova said, “Each of my characters is either a part of me myself or of someone I know. Creating arbitrary characters is a thankless task.” In the same interview, when asked about creative writing courses, Muravyova questioned their efficacy, saying, “Writing books isn’t a profession. For me writing a book is almost the same as breathing. In any case, I’m afraid of such pathos-laden statements, so let’s simply say it’s a vitally important matter.”

Muravyova Recommends: Muravyova wrote her dissertation about the psychology of childhood in Dostoevsky’s books. 

 

Photo credit: Dmitry Rozhkov, creative commons. 


More on Muravyova

Awards & Nominations:

  • Young Lady – finalist, Bunin Prize, 2011;
  • Day of the Angel – long list for Yasnaya Polyana award, 2011

Translations:

  • Day of the Angel (Anthem Press, 2013, tr. John Dewey)
  • The Nomadic Soul (Glas, 1999, tr. John Dewey)

Other Recent Titles:

  • Beatrice’s Reflection (Отражение Беатриче), 2012
  • The Love of Frau Kleist (Любовь фрау Клейст), 2008
  • Jolly Fellows (Веселые ребята), 2005

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