José Vergara is assistant professor of Russian on the Myra T. Cooley Lectureship in Russian Studies at Bryn Mawr College, where he teaches all eras of Russian culture and specializes in prose of the 20th and 21st centuries with an emphasis on experimental works. His first book, All Future Plunges to the Past: James Joyce in Russian Literature (Cornell/NIUP, 2021), examines the reception of Joyce’s fiction among Russian writers from the 1920s to the present day. His writing and interviews have appeared on Literary Hub, Asymptote, Words Without Borders, Music & Literature, and World Literature Today. He can be found @thejosevergara.
José Vergara
Articles
The Storykeeper: A Conversation with Svetlana Alexievich
José Vergara and his students ask Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich about how war has shaped her work, as well as about her writing process and Chornobyl’s legacy.
Dog Days: An Interview with Mo Rocca
José Vergara speaks to Mo Rocca, writer for “Wishbone,” about turning classics into a children’s television series starring a dog.
A Winner Over Time: An Interview with Martin Reiner
José Vergara interviews Martin Reiner about his muse and predecessor, Ivan Blatný.
You Don’t Have To Live Like a Refugee: On Metaphors and Narratives of Displacement
On World Refugee Day 2019, José Vergara discusses three novels that challenge the “boat is full” narrative.
Difficult Lessons: Remembering Andrei Bitov (1937-2018)
José Vergara remembers the Russian writer Andrei Bitov, who died on December 3.
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