Faith · Cinema · Books · Observations
Several acquaintances, having read my complaint about the Russian title of Project Hail Mary, have written to say that it is not actually "Ave Maria" but sporting slang, meaning a desperate pass in American football, or a last hope. My dear Ted Lassos, my very own Utkins! The
Archive · The East · Books · Moscow · Science
The Fundamental Library of INION RAS has opened trial access to the largest archive of digitised Chinese newspapers, the Contemporary Chinese Newspaper Full-Text Database, to a reprint database of the social sciences, and to Artron, with its albums and images on art. Until 30 June all of this may
Archaeology · Archive · Faith · Books · Moscow · Museums · Science · Education · Ethnography
From the famous Prigov: “Just stepped out of the bath, and already I remember nothing.” A month is built much the same way. So let me propose recalling the main things from April's publications in the digest. 🎭 At the Taganka Theatre, Alexander Zolotovitsky has staged “Three Sisters”, in
Archive · Faith · Books · Science · Rome · Saint Petersburg
Now let us praise the all-ruling keeper of heaven, the Lord's almighty power, his good and wise counsel and the creation of the giver of glory, how he, the eternal sovereign, gave a beginning to every wonder. He made a lofty roof for the children of earth,
Archaeology · The East · Books · Mores · Education
The first documented case of sucking up to a teacher was preserved for us by Sumerian literature. It is probably one of the most popular texts in Sumerian: a poem about a negligent pupil, written around 2000 BC by an unknown teacher. The poem was called "Schooldays". The
Books · Observations · Society · Humour
The woman who denounced the writer Vladimir Sorokin has spoken about censorship in literature, expressing regret at having started her campaign against him and asking:. Who wrote two million denunciations? Well, all of us "wrote" them No, madam (and "esteemed" is the last thing you are)
Art · Books · London · Society · People
Ai Weiwei, one of the best-known and most politically inconvenient artists of our time, has published a book about censorship. His father, the poet Ai Qing, cleaned latrines in a labour camp. Ai Weiwei himself was detained in 2011 for 81 days without charge. His studio was demolished, his
Archaeology · The East · Books · Science
At Egyptian Oxyrhynchus, the Hispano-Egyptian expedition of the University of Barcelona has concluded another season of excavation and returned with something genuinely strange. Among the Roman-period mummies was one inside which lay a papyrus bearing a fragment of the second book of the Iliad, the famous "Catalogue
Archive · Books · Mores · Society
People stand outside banks with faces that bear the stamp of dull despair. This is not the fury of 1991; it is the weariness of people who have been cheated once again. A question hangs in the air: can it really be starting all over again? Marietta Chudakova on the
Art · Books · People · Pop Culture
Unpublished Illustrations for "Harry Potter" by the Now-Legendary Artist Mary GrandPré. Mary GrandPré was offered the illustration of the first Harry Potter book in the late 1990s by an editor at Scholastic, and at first she declined: her schedule simply would not allow so large a project.
The East · Art · Books · People · Ethnography
Engraving of the funeral procession of the kings of Tonkin, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, "Six Voyages Made by Him in Turkey, Persia and the Indies", Paris, 1677, with the supplement "Continuation of the Voyages", 1679. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier was the son of a map engraver, became a
Faith · Books · Observations · Humour
Has everyone heard of the medieval demon professionally attached, so to speak, to the guild of scribes? His name was Titivillus, and he served a double function. His first task was to listen to church services. The monks sang psalms, and there were always some who swallowed syllables, hurried, skipped