Yelena Furman
@yelenafurman.bsky.social
Academic, writer, book reviewer of Russian/East European/FSU immigrant literatures
Co-founder, Punctured Lines, a blog about literatures of the former USSR & diaspora, w/ Olga Zilberbourg
Co-founder, Punctured Lines, a blog about literatures of the former USSR & diaspora, w/ Olga Zilberbourg
Reposted by Yelena Furman
JUST IN: California voters have approved a ballot measure to redraw the state's congressional map to favor Democrats, marking the party's biggest victory to date in a national battle over redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms.
California voters OK new congressional lines, boosting Democrats ahead of midterms
California voters have approved a ballot measure to redraw the state's congressional map to favor Democrats, marking the party's biggest victory to date in a national battle over redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms.
n.pr
November 5, 2025 at 4:06 AM
JUST IN: California voters have approved a ballot measure to redraw the state's congressional map to favor Democrats, marking the party's biggest victory to date in a national battle over redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms.
We should change the saying to, Don't mess with California, Texas (yes, I have been waiting to say this for a while. Yes, yes, yes.)
November 5, 2025 at 4:18 AM
We should change the saying to, Don't mess with California, Texas (yes, I have been waiting to say this for a while. Yes, yes, yes.)
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Did you miss the author event we held with Marek Torcik here in the bookstore? Memory Burn, is a coming-of-age story of a queer boy from a Czech industrial town, delving into the recesses of memory to come to terms with his painful childhood. Save 15%. bergstrompressbooks.com/en/fiction/1...
Memory Burn [Rozložíš pamet]
Memory Burn, is a coming-of-age story of a queer boy from a Czech industrial town. Torcík’ delves into the recesses of memory in an effort to come to terms with painful memories from his childhood. As...
bergstrompressbooks.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Did you miss the author event we held with Marek Torcik here in the bookstore? Memory Burn, is a coming-of-age story of a queer boy from a Czech industrial town, delving into the recesses of memory to come to terms with his painful childhood. Save 15%. bergstrompressbooks.com/en/fiction/1...
If you're able to, please donate to this one if in LA, or to whichever your local one is.
www.lafoodbank.org?_gl=1%2Aft21...
www.lafoodbank.org?_gl=1%2Aft21...
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
Our vision: No one goes hungry in Los Angeles.
www.lafoodbank.org
November 1, 2025 at 8:32 PM
If you're able to, please donate to this one if in LA, or to whichever your local one is.
www.lafoodbank.org?_gl=1%2Aft21...
www.lafoodbank.org?_gl=1%2Aft21...
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
October 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.
They are not the same.
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Live in the DMV and have an interest in Central and Eastern European literature? Make sure you follow us or get on our mailing list. Last night we hosted Czech author Marek Torčik & Sunday we will host Ukrainian poet Iryna Vikyrchak. Copies of both books are available in the bookstore.
October 29, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Live in the DMV and have an interest in Central and Eastern European literature? Make sure you follow us or get on our mailing list. Last night we hosted Czech author Marek Torčik & Sunday we will host Ukrainian poet Iryna Vikyrchak. Copies of both books are available in the bookstore.
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Diana Loginova, 18, was sentenced to 13 days in jail shortly after finishing a previous 13-day sentence for her band's performances of anti-war songs.
St. Petersburg Street Musician Jailed Again Over Viral Anti-Putin Performance - The Moscow Times
A Russian court has sentenced 18-year-old street musician Diana Loginova to 13 days in jail for a second time this month over her viral performances of anti-Kremlin songs.
www.themoscowtimes.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Diana Loginova, 18, was sentenced to 13 days in jail shortly after finishing a previous 13-day sentence for her band's performances of anti-war songs.
A brief detour from Chekhov scholarship (for class) and FSU writers' portrayals of the Holocaust and the war (for conference paper). Preface begins with discussion of Dostoevsky's near-execution.
October 29, 2025 at 1:03 AM
A brief detour from Chekhov scholarship (for class) and FSU writers' portrayals of the Holocaust and the war (for conference paper). Preface begins with discussion of Dostoevsky's near-execution.
A friendly reminder to vote if you're in California, should you need one. Come on, California, you can do this, yes, you can.
October 28, 2025 at 5:01 PM
A friendly reminder to vote if you're in California, should you need one. Come on, California, you can do this, yes, you can.
Reposted by Yelena Furman
This portrait of Akhmatova was painted by Olga Della-Vos-Kardovskaya in 1914. Come and hear Stephen Capus and I talk about Akhmatova at Ledbury Winter Poetry Festival on Sat 22 November: www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/her...
October 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM
This portrait of Akhmatova was painted by Olga Della-Vos-Kardovskaya in 1914. Come and hear Stephen Capus and I talk about Akhmatova at Ledbury Winter Poetry Festival on Sat 22 November: www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/her...
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Are you a furloughed federal worker? Need some kind of escape? Swing by the bookstore, we have a lot of ARCs we would happily give you. #strongertogether
October 28, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Are you a furloughed federal worker? Need some kind of escape? Swing by the bookstore, we have a lot of ARCs we would happily give you. #strongertogether
Reposted by Yelena Furman
My new blog post on Lydia Chukovskaya's brilliant, chilling, tragic novella, SOFIA PETROVNA. Translated from the Russian by Aline Werth.
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/10/28/s...
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/10/28/s...
Sofia Petrovna – Lydia Chukovskaya (tr. Aline Werth)
I read Sofia Petrovna back in August for ‘WITMonth’, but I’m only now getting around to writing about it! An excellent, tragic novella, this book was recently published by the wonderful Persephone …
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com
October 28, 2025 at 10:43 AM
My new blog post on Lydia Chukovskaya's brilliant, chilling, tragic novella, SOFIA PETROVNA. Translated from the Russian by Aline Werth.
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/10/28/s...
readersretreat2017.wordpress.com/2025/10/28/s...
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Today, we remember the 11 innocent lives taken during the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
We honor the victims and commit to building a country free from antisemitism and hatred.
We honor the victims and commit to building a country free from antisemitism and hatred.
October 27, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Today, we remember the 11 innocent lives taken during the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
We honor the victims and commit to building a country free from antisemitism and hatred.
We honor the victims and commit to building a country free from antisemitism and hatred.
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Huge thanks @elizabethmck.bsky.social and @chicagoqreview.bsky.social for publishing my personal essay "The Richest Kid in the World." It's about the fall of the USSR as told through the eyes of a pre-teen, censorship, & the way end of censorship in the USSR affected different generations.
October 27, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Huge thanks @elizabethmck.bsky.social and @chicagoqreview.bsky.social for publishing my personal essay "The Richest Kid in the World." It's about the fall of the USSR as told through the eyes of a pre-teen, censorship, & the way end of censorship in the USSR affected different generations.
Due to my not realizing that not all early vote centers open today, I couldn't go to my local one, so I went to the one that did open today in the area, located in a park that has been the hub for Soviet Jews since, well, Soviet times. Come on, California, you can do this, yes, yes, you can, yes.😉
October 25, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Due to my not realizing that not all early vote centers open today, I couldn't go to my local one, so I went to the one that did open today in the area, located in a park that has been the hub for Soviet Jews since, well, Soviet times. Come on, California, you can do this, yes, yes, you can, yes.😉
Reposted by Yelena Furman
What are you reading this weekend?
I’m working my way through this. Haven’t progressed far, but it is engaging.
I’m working my way through this. Haven’t progressed far, but it is engaging.
October 25, 2025 at 5:31 PM
What are you reading this weekend?
I’m working my way through this. Haven’t progressed far, but it is engaging.
I’m working my way through this. Haven’t progressed far, but it is engaging.
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Technically, this is a book of spells.
October 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Technically, this is a book of spells.
Big thank you to @moushumighosh.bsky.social for the recommendation of this, which feeds my growing obsession with Japanese detective fiction of the twistiest kind.
(Mystery of a different kind is why this new book is covered with baked-in black stuff all over it. Yes, I did try to wipe (!) it off.)
(Mystery of a different kind is why this new book is covered with baked-in black stuff all over it. Yes, I did try to wipe (!) it off.)
October 24, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Big thank you to @moushumighosh.bsky.social for the recommendation of this, which feeds my growing obsession with Japanese detective fiction of the twistiest kind.
(Mystery of a different kind is why this new book is covered with baked-in black stuff all over it. Yes, I did try to wipe (!) it off.)
(Mystery of a different kind is why this new book is covered with baked-in black stuff all over it. Yes, I did try to wipe (!) it off.)
Reposted by Yelena Furman
This ends in revolution
October 23, 2025 at 8:34 PM
This ends in revolution
Reposted by Yelena Furman
“Nasiliu.net no longer exists, but the violence does,” founder and director Anna Rivina wrote, urging the public to continue supporting the psychologists and lawyers who still work independently.
Russian Domestic Violence NGO Nasiliu.Net Closes Amid State Pressure - The Moscow Times
Russia’s leading domestic violence support center announced Wednesday it was shutting down over intensifying government pressure and a loss of resources due to its “foreign agent” designation.
www.themoscowtimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:10 PM
“Nasiliu.net no longer exists, but the violence does,” founder and director Anna Rivina wrote, urging the public to continue supporting the psychologists and lawyers who still work independently.
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Police have detained a local street performer in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg after he played songs in support of an arrested St. Petersburg street band that went viral for anti-Kremlin performances, the rights group OVD-Info reported Tuesday.
Yekaterinburg Street Musician Detained After Performing in Support of Arrested Band - The Moscow Times
Police have detained a local street performer in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg after he played songs in support of an arrested St.
www.themoscowtimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Police have detained a local street performer in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg after he played songs in support of an arrested St. Petersburg street band that went viral for anti-Kremlin performances, the rights group OVD-Info reported Tuesday.
If you are in or close to San Francisco, you should go hear these phenomenal writers this Saturday.
I hope everyone's enjoying @litquake.org ! Mark your calendars for next week --
October 20, 2025 at 8:10 PM
If you are in or close to San Francisco, you should go hear these phenomenal writers this Saturday.
Reposted by Yelena Furman
I hope everyone's enjoying @litquake.org ! Mark your calendars for next week --
October 15, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I hope everyone's enjoying @litquake.org ! Mark your calendars for next week --
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Saturday!
I hope everyone's enjoying @litquake.org ! Mark your calendars for next week --
October 20, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Saturday!
Reposted by Yelena Furman
Saturday!
I hope everyone's enjoying @litquake.org ! Mark your calendars for next week --
October 20, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Saturday!