Double exile: negotiating otherness in the translations and poetry of Valerii Pereleshin

This presentation introduces research on a unique case in Russian émigré literature in the 20^th century – Valerii Pereleshin (1913-1992), who resided in China from 1920 to 1952 and Brazil from 1952 to 1992. Recent studies of Pereleshin’s works, especially those conducted in China and Russia, have been embedded within the discourse of Russo-Chinese political, diplomatic and cultural interaction, celebrating Pereleshin’s appreciation of Chinese culture, translation of Chinese texts and incorporation of Chinese images and philosophical concepts in his poetry. Contrary to these attempts to establish the “Chinese note” of Russian émigré literature, my research focuses on a major aspect of the author’s works – the theme of homosexuality. Through examining Pereleshin’s translations and poetry, the study investigates how translation serves as a field of experimentation for Pereleshin to articulate his poetic voice and embrace his sexual otherness, which makes his poetry remarkably different from other émigré writing.

This research aims to explore the creative and transgressive potential of the intersection of émigré literature and gay literature, what new perspectives it would offer to the study of émigré literature and how it would contribute to the scholarship of Russian gay literature in the 20^th century and world literature.

The other half of this evening will be PhD Candidate Bence Tóth with The role of favouritism in municipal government contracting