Mikhail Shishkin (writer)
Mikhail Shishkin | |
---|---|
Born | Moscow, Russian SFSR | 18 January 1961
Occupation | writer |
Nationality | Russian |
Citizenship | Russia, Switzerland |
Genre | Fiction, non-fiction |
Notable awards | Russian Booker Prize (2000), Russian National Bestseller Award (2005) and Big Book Prize (2006, 2010) |
Website | |
mikhailshishkin |
Mikhail Pavlovich Shishkin (Russian: Михаил Павлович Шишкин, born 18 January 1961) is a Russian-Swiss writer and the only author to have won the Russian Booker Prize (2000), the Russian National Bestseller (2005), and the Big Book Prize (2010). His books have been translated into 30 languages.[1] He also writes in German.
Biography
Mikhail Shishkin was born in Moscow on 18 January 1961 to Irina Georgievna Shishkina, a Russian literature teacher, and Pavel Mikhailovich Shishkin, an engineer constructor. In 1977 Shishkin graduated from high school #59 in Arbat district in the centre of Moscow.
After graduation from Moscow State Pedagogical Institute, where Shishkin studied German and English, he worked as a road worker, street sweeper, journalist, school teacher, and translator.
In 1995, Shishkin moved to Switzerland for family reasons. He worked in Zürich within the Immigration Department and specifically with refugees as a Russian and German translator.[2][3] He has Swiss citizenship.[4]
Shishkin was invited as a guest professor to
Shishkin was a guest of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program in Berlin from 2012 to 2013. He is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and cultural foundations across Europe and the United States and a frequent speaker on television and radio in many countries.[5][6][7]
Shishkin has published articles in The New York Times,[8] The Wall Street Journal,[9] The Guardian,[10] Le Monde,[11] The Independent,[12] and other media outlets.
Literary career
His first novel One Night Befalls Us All (Omnes una manet nox) / Всех ожидает одна ночь also appeared the same year in
In 1999, Znamya published Shishkin's breakthrough novel The Taking of Izmail. In 2000 the novel won Russian Booker Prize for the best Russian novel of the year. Nezavisimaya gazeta wrote: "A beautiful, powerful and fascinating book which will become a milestone not only in the history of Russian literature but in the development of Russian self-awareness."[15]
His experience of moving to a new country inspired Shishkin to write Russian Switzerland / Русская Швейцария, a nonfiction literary-historical guide. In 1999 it was published by PANO-Verlag in Zürich (in Russian). This book was translated into German and French and received the award of Canton of Zürich (Werkbeitrag des Kantons Zürich 2000).
In 2002, Limmat Verlag in Zürich released Shishkin's book written in German Montreux-Missolunghi-Astapowo: Tracing Byron and Tolstoy, a literary walk from Lake Geneva to the Bern Alps[16] which received the literary award of Zürich (Werkjahr der Stadt Zürich 2002).
In 2005, Shishkin published the novel Maidenhair, receiving the National Bestseller award 2005 and
The novel in the English translation published by Open Letter in 2012 was highly praised by critics. Daniel Kalder in The Dallas Morning News stated: "In short, Maidenhair is the best post-Soviet Russian novel I have read. Simply put, it is true literature, a phenomenon we encounter too rarely in any language."[19] Boris Dralyuk wrote in The Times Literary Supplement that "Shishkin's prodigious erudition, lapidary phrasing and penchant for generic play are conspicuous components of his art...These characteristics do indeed ally him with Nabokov, as does his faith in the power of the written word: "The story is the hand, and you're the mitt. Stories change you, like mitts. You have to understand that stories are living beings"."[20]
In 2010, the novel Pismovnik (Letter-Book) was published by AST in Moscow. It won him the main Russian literary Prize "Bolshaya kniga" - the author received the main award of the Big Book Prize (2011) and won the reader choice vote.
The English translation of Pismovnik was published under the title The Light and the Dark by
In 2015, Deep Vellum Publishing released Calligraphy Lesson: The Collected Stories. Michael Orthofer in Complete Review called the book "an ideal introduction to Shishkin and his work". According to critic Jacob Kiernan (New Orleans Review),"the collection consists of artfully constructed, empathetic tales of people living in the midst cyclonic time."[26] Caroline North wrote in Dallas Observer: "Though the stories in CALLIGRAPHY LESSON are steeped in Russian history and have a distinctly Russian tone, many of the philosophical quandaries they engage extend beyond language and borders ― they are universal problems, and this translation boldly and successfully takes them on."[27]
Translations of the works of Mikhail Shishkin have received numerous international awards, including the 2007 Grinzane Cavour Prize (Italy)[28] for Capelvenere (Italian translation of Maidenhair), the French literary prize for the best foreign book of the year 2005 - Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (Essay) in Paris[29] and The International Berlin Prize (Haus der Kulturen der Welt) International Literature Award for the best foreign novel of the year 2011 for Venushaar (German translation of Maidenhair).
Asked in an interview about all his prizes, Shishkin replied: "No award has ever made a book better." Shishkin sees his critical accomplishment as "proof that I was right not to compromise."[30]
In 2019, Shishkin released a digital Book Dead Souls, living Noses. An Introduction into the Russian Culture History (in German), a collection of 16 essays and 400 comments with pictures, music and videos. NZZ praised this digital project as "a new level in the development of book culture".[31] Shishkin called this book in an interview "my very personal encyclopedia of the Russian Culture".[32]
All Shishkins's novels have been adapted into theater dramas in Russia.
Literary style
His prose has been praised, e.g., "Shishkin's language is wonderfully lucid and concise. Without sounding archaic, it reaches over the heads of
Shishkin compares the writing process with a blood transfusion: "I am sharing the most important essence of life with my reader. But we need to have the same blood type."[35]
Political views
Shishkin openly opposes the current Russian government and criticizes sharply Vladimir Putin's domestic and foreign policies, including the annexation of Crimea in 2014.[36][37]
In 2013, he pulled out of representing Russia at the Book Expo in the United States.[38] Mikhail Shishkin declared in his Open Letter:
A country where power has been seized by a corrupt, criminal regime, where the state is a pyramid of thieves, where elections have become farce, where courts serve the authorities, not the law, where there are political prisoners, where state television has become a prostitute, where packs of impostors pass insane laws that are returning everyone to the Middle Ages – such a country cannot be my Russia. I want to and will represent another Russia, my Russia, a country free of impostors, a country with a state structure that defends the right of the individual, not the right to corruption, a country with a free media, free elections, and free people.[39]
He opposed the
Awards and honors
- 1993 the Prize for the best Debut of the Year[41]
- 2000 Russian Booker Prize, The Taking of Izmail
- 2005 Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (Essay)
- 2006 Big Book Award, Maidenhair
- 2006 National Bestseller Literary Prize,[42] Maidenhair
- 2007 Grinzane Cavour Prize,[43] Capelvenere (Italian translation of Maidenhair)
- 2011 Big Book Award, Pismovnik
- 2011 International Literature Award, Maidenhair (German translation)
- 2013 Best Translated Book Award, shortlist, Maidenhair[44]
- 2022 Premio Strega Europeo in Italy for Pismownik (Punto di fuga, Italian translation of The Light and the Dark).[45]
Selected bibliography
Fiction
- Calligraphy Lesson/ Урок каллиграфии, short story (1993)
- One Night Befalls Us All (Omnes una manet nox) / Всех ожидает одна ночь, novel (1993)
- Blind Musician / Слепой музыкант, novella (1994)
- The Taking of Izmail / Взятие Измаила, novel (1999)
- Saved language / Спасенный язык, essay (2001)
- Maidenhair / Венерин Волос, novel (2005)
- Pismovnik ("Letter Book") / Письмовник, novel (2010)
- The Half-Belt Overcoat / Пальто с хлястиком, essays and short stories (2017)
Non-Fiction
- Russian Switzerland / Русская Швейцария literary and historical guidebook (1999)
- A letter on the snow. Three essays. Robert Walser, James Joyce, Vladimir Sharov / Буква на снегу. Три эссе. Роберт Вальзер, Джеймс Джойс, Владимир Шаров (2019)
Books written in German
- Montreux-Missolunghi-Astapovo, Tracing Byron and Tolstoy, a literary walk from Lake Geneva to the Bern Alps / Montreux-Missolunghi-Astapowo, Auf den Spuren von Byron und Tolstoi, an essay collection, in German (2002).
- Dead Souls, living Noses. An Introduction into the Russian Culture History / Tote Seelen, lebende Nasen. Eine Einführung in die russische Kulturgeschichte. A multimedia digital book. Petit-Lucelle Publishing House, Kleinlützel, 2019, ISBN 978-3-033-07082-0.
- War or Peace. Russia and the West. An Approach / Frieden oder Krieg. Russland und der Westen – eine Annäherung. Together with ISBN 978-3-453-28117-2.
English Translations
- Maidenhair / Венерин Волос, ISBN 978-1-934824-36-8
- The Light and the Dark / Письмовник, ISBN 978-1-623650-46-9
- Calligraphy Lesson: The Collected Stories, Deep Vellum, 2015, tr. ISBN 978-1-941920-03-9
- Tolstoy and the Death: in Tolstoy and Spirituality, ISBN 978-1618118707
Literature
- M. A. Orthofer. The Complete Review Guide to Contemporary World Fiction. — ISBN 0231518501.
- (in Russian) Iconic Names of Russian Literature: Mikhail Shishkin. A collection of 35 essays on his writing, a collective monograph. Krakow, Jagiellonian University, 2017. — ISBN 978-83-65432-70-4.
References
- ^ Shishkin´s Literary Agency
- ^ Big Book Prize web-site
- ^ Interview with Mikhail Shishkin, The Morning News December 17, 2012
- ^ Ulrich M. Schmid: Das Ich und seine Geschichten. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 12. März 2011.
- ^ BBC Radio 4 Talk with Shishkin March 24, 2013
- ^ Sternstunde Philosophie - Poet gegen Zar - Der Schriftsteller Michail Schischkin/Poet against Tsar (in German)
- ^ Shishkin´s Talk at the Columbia University June 26, 2013
- ^ "Mikhail Shishkin: How Russians lost the War" The New York Times 9.05.2015
- ^ Mikhail Shishkin on Olimpics in Sochi, The Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2014
- TheGuardian.com.
- ^ Mikhail Chichkine "Triste empire poutinien" Le Monde, March 3, 2012]
- ^ "Mikhail Shishkin: A revolution for Russia's words" , The Independent 22.03.2013
- ^ Official website of the literary magazine Znamya
- The Boston Sunday GlobeJune 25, 1995
- ^ ″Taking Izmail sub specia aeternitatis" by Bakhyt Kenzheyev, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" January 17, 2000.
- ^ Michail Schischkin Montreux-Missolunghi-Astapowo, Auf den Spuren von Byron und Tolstoj Limmat Verlag, Zürich, 2002
- ^ Mikhail Shishkin´s Anabasis by Maya Kucherskaya, polit.ru
- ^ By the word shall we be resurrected by Dmitry Kharitonov, Moscow News, April 22, 2005
- ^ Mikhail Shishkin´s Maidenhair Review by Daniel Kalder, November 26. 2012
- ^ TLS,Sentimental Education by Boris Dralyuk, March 29. 2013
- ^ Wall Street Journal, Book Review: 'The Light and the Dark' by Sam Sacks, January 10, 2014
- ^ Monocle Magazine, April 2013, Issue 62, volume 7, p.182-183. Book Review: 'The Light and the Dark' by Robert Bound, January 10, 2014
- ^ The Sunday Times "On a winning streak" by Phil Baker, April 14, 2013
- ^ The New York Times Book Review "Dear Sasha, Dear Volodya" by Boris Fishman, January 10, 2014
- ^ The Guardian "The Light and the Dark by Mikhail Shishkin" by Phoebe Taplin, March 13, 2013
- ^ New Orleans Review Calligraphy Lesson: The Collected Stories, Book Review by Jacob Kiernan
- ^ Dallas Observer,Is all about Language by Caroline North, May 22. 2015
- ^ Mikhail Shishkin Vince il Grinzane Cavour - Mosca 21.11.2007
- ^ Mikhaïl Chichkine Dans les pas de Byron et Tolstoi. Du lac Léman à l'Oberland bernois Noir sur Blanc, Lausanne, 2015
- ^ Interview with Mikhail Shishkin, The Morning News December 17, 2012
- ^ "Michail Schischkin legt eine superbe multimediale Einführung in die russische Kulturgeschichte vor", by U.Schmid NZZ, January 20.2019
- ^ Michail Schischkin: «Für mein Buch gibt es noch kein Regal» LZ, January 13, 2019
- ^ Times Literary Supplement, 8.10.2010. By V. Sonkin
- ^ "Russia's best-kept literary secret", Phoebe Taplin, Russia Beyond the Headlines, Jan 9, 2012.
- ^ Interview with Mikhail Shishkin, The Morning News December 17, 2012
- ^ "Vladimir Putin's black hole" The Guardian September 18, 2015.
- ^ "Mikhail Shishkin: How Russians lost the War" The New York Times 9.05.2015
- ^ Mikhail Shishkin refuses to represent 'criminal' Russian regime The Guardian March 7, 2013.
- ^ Shishkin´s Open Letter in Russian, German and English
- ^ "My dear Russians – the Ukrainians are fighting Putin's army for their freedom, and ours". The Guardian. 7 March 2022.
- ^ Official website of the literary magazine Znamya
- ^ the Official Site of the Russian National Bestseller Prize
- ^ Mikhail Shishkin Vince il Grinzane Cavour - Mosca 21.11.2007
- ^ Chad W. Post (April 10, 2013). "2013 Best Translated Book Award: The Fiction Finalists". Three Percent. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
- ^ Shishkin Vince il Premio Strega Europeo 2022
External links
- Mikhail Shishkin delivers the keynote speech at the 2017 PEN Awards for Free Expression
- An interview with Mikhail Shishkin by Alyssa Loh, The American Reader
- Maiden Hair, a Review by Madeleine LaRue, The Quarterly Conversation
- TV Deutsche Welle on Mikhail Shishkin and Maiden Hair (in English)
- (in German) Shishkin's site