To Hell with Poets by Baqytgul Sarmekova (w/ translator Mirgul Kali) episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 6, 2025 · 1H 7M

To Hell with Poets by Baqytgul Sarmekova (w/ translator Mirgul Kali)

from The Slavic Literature Pod · host The Slavic Literature Pod

Pick up a copy of To Hell with Poets from the Tilted Axis Press website. Show Notes:This week, Cameron revisits Baqytgul Sarmekova’s To Hell With Poets with the help of the collection’s translator, Mirgul Kali. Together, they’ll dive back into how Sarmekova explores both Kazakh society and more universal themes through violence, disappointment and hope. Plus, learn a little more about Sarmekova herself as well as some of the peculiarities of translating from Kazakh into English. Mirgul Kali is a literary translator working from Kazakh language. Her translations of short stories by classic and contemporary Kazakh writers have appeared in Tupelo Quarterly, Electric Literature, The Massachusetts Review, Gulf Coast, Words Without Borders, and other publications. A graduate of MFA program in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, she received a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant and a PEN Translates award for her translation of Baqytgul Sarmekova’s To Hell with Poets, a short story collection published by Tilted Axis Press in March 2024.01:03:49 - Sins of the Mother: Unsettling Matrilineal Inheritance in East Europe, Central Asia, and the CaucasusMajor themes: Kazakh cultural context, thematic universality, blonde dyed Lady HopeThe music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube. Our links: Website | ⁠Discord⁠ Socials: Instagram⁠ | BlueSky | Twitter⁠ | FacebookQuestions, comments, want to hear your voice on a bonus episode? Send us an email at [email protected] or call our voicemail at 209.800.3944Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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