Anna Aslanyan
@anna-aslanyan.bsky.social
Reading, writing, translating, interpreting, etc.
‘The “publishers’ plot” has left Russia’s book industry in turmoil. The defendants all made deals with the investigators and pleaded guilty. Ivanov said he regretted his part in selling LGBT-themed books.’ @anna-aslanyan.bsky.social on Russian censorship, from the blog www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/au...
Anna Aslanyan | The Publishers’ Plot
In May 2025, ten people affiliated with Eksmo, Russia’s publishing behemoth, were detained in Moscow. Three of them,...
lrb.co.uk
My book, translated by Koichi Ogawa, came out in Japan as Translation That Divides Life and Death. A summary concludes: 'The fact that the author was born in Moscow, lives in London, and works between Russian and English is itself the most radical annotation of this book.' note.com/ready_honest...
【本要約】生と死を分ける翻訳――聖書から機械翻訳まで｜pairu
「黙殺」という日本語を英語に訳した瞬間に、広島と長崎が消えた。 1945年夏、鈴木貫太郎首相はポツダム宣言に対して「ただ黙殺するのみ」とコメントした。 本人の意図は「ノーコメント」だった。しかし当時の翻訳は "ignore"（無視する）と英訳され、ニューヨーク・タイムズは「日本、連合国の降伏勧告を公式に拒絶」という見出しを打った。日本が降伏する意思を持っていない、とアメリカは判断した。その数週間...
note.com
This week University of Bristol runs a workshop on machine translation, language learning and linguistic diversity. I'll be talking on Wednesday about economics and ethics of AI language models. Free event; all welcome. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/museum-of-...
Museum of Languages (In-Person)
Workshop to explore how advances in machine translation and language learning are reshaping linguistic diversity.
eventbrite.co.uk
'Devon and Cornwall police [said] responsibility for the interpreter lay with a contractor that is paid £130,000 a year to provide translation services. The contractor did not respond to a request for comment.' My 2017 piece on the outsourcing of translation services: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2017/fe...
Anna Aslanyan | Shambles in Court
According to the most recent census, English is not the main language of 4.2 million people in England and Wales (7.7...
lrb.co.uk
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3mo agoChinese dissident says he was berated by ‘pro-regime’ interpreter for UK police
Got free time thanks to AI? Read Control Science: How Management Made the Modern World by Henry Snow, an economic history showing how work rules have come to dominate your life. Not enough time for the entire book? Read my review of it: spectator.com/article/how-...
How the 18th-century Panopticon inspired today’s giant distribution hubs
The future of work is increasingly on our minds. Now that AI is coming for our jobs, will we end up supervising or being supervised by it? One way of spending the time freed up by smart tech is to rea...
spectator.com
At Sea by Y. M. Abdel-Magied, set on an oil rig, is the industrial novel readers have been waiting for since Arthur Hailey's Overload. I reviewed it for @thetls.bsky.social. www.the-tls.com/literature/f...
More than a drill
The industrial novel, once a flourishing genre, has more recently been somewhat overlooked by anglophone authors. This century hasn’t yet produced its
the-tls.com
Some (including this reviewer) like it hot. The question is, can one take notes in a sauna theatre? www.summerhallarts.co.uk/2026/05/putt...
Putting ‘heat’ in ‘theatre’: the UK’s first purpose-built Sauna Theatre announces Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme - Summerhall Arts
Sauna Theatre, the first project from new company Sauna Sessions Arts Club, is the UK’s largest sauna and the first to be purpose built to showcase theatre,
summerhallarts.co.uk
One hundred years ago, they didn’t just sit around on May Day.
‘𝘕𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘹, directed by LeCompte, is on in London this week. The set at the Coronet Theatre comprises a black stage, a large screen and a few props, including a pink chair from the 1978 production.’ Anna Aslanyan on Spalding Gray’s riff on 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ap...
Anna Aslanyan | ‘Nayatt School Redux’
In Nayatt School, Spalding Gray played a ‘pedantic schoolteacher’ and the psychiatrist from The Cocktail Party,...
lrb.co.uk
‘Spalding Gray grew up listening to the radio. His Christian Scientist mother forbade it, but he used a crystal set and earphones. When he plays the LP of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 in the footage, demented laughter is heard; he called it “infectious”.’ Anna Aslanyan: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ap...
Anna Aslanyan | ‘Nayatt School Redux’
In Nayatt School, Spalding Gray played a ‘pedantic schoolteacher’ and the psychiatrist from The Cocktail Party,...
lrb.co.uk
I saw The Wooster Group in London and wrote about it for @lrb.co.uk www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ap...
Anna Aslanyan | ‘Nayatt School Redux’
In Nayatt School, Spalding Gray played a ‘pedantic schoolteacher’ and the psychiatrist from The Cocktail Party,...
lrb.co.uk
My review of Rogues, Widows and Orphans: Mischief and Misadventures in the World of Books by Rebecca Lee (note the deadly typo that spelled the headline) spectator.com/article/the-...
The typo that spelled death in the Soviet Union
‘As anyone who has gleefully spotted a typo in a prestigious publication, felt a flicker of schadenfreude at a pompous critic’s downfall, or secretly enjoyed a literary scandal knows, it is possible t...
spectator.com
On Friday 10 April I'll be interviewing Sean Ashton about his latest novel, Massive Massive Oil Slick, a masterclass in constrained writing. Free tickets here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-avo...
How to Avoid Writing a Narrative Novel: Sean Ashton, Anna Aslanyan
Krupa Gallery invites you to an evening with Sean Ashton as part of the programming for the exhibition How to Avoid Being Wrapped.
eventbrite.co.uk
Another year, another History Cycle. Join me for a bike tour of Hackney, part of @hackney-hist-fest.bsky.social, on Sunday 24 May, 4pm–6pm. All proceeds go to Leaside's cycling projects. Tickets here: www.tickettailor.com/events/hackn...
Buy tickets – Ride - History Cycle: A bike tour of Hackney – 75 Downs Rd, E5 8DS
Ride - History Cycle: A bike tour of Hackney – 75 Downs Rd, E5 8DS, Sun 24 May 2026 - The Pickwick Bicycle Club, founded in Hackney in 1870, is the world’s oldest cycling association. The ride will st...
tickettailor.com
‘Having planned four quadruple jumps for the programme, Shaidorov added a fifth. His winning element was a triple Axel-Euler-quadruple Salchow combination. You didn’t need to know who invented these jumps to see that he landed them all.’ @anna-aslanyan.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...
Anna Aslanyan | Esperanto on Ice
‘Let the Minion skate!’ people were urging on social media days before the start of the Winter Olympics. Universal...
lrb.co.uk
What's harder to land: a tune or a toe loop? I wrote about it for @lrb.co.uk www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...
Anna Aslanyan | Esperanto on Ice
‘Let the Minion skate!’ people were urging on social media days before the start of the Winter Olympics. Universal...
lrb.co.uk
‘Watching the games as a schoolgirl in Moscow, I cheered when Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean beat the Soviet pair with their flawless performance to Ravel’s Boléro. The USSR had enough medals anyway.’ @anna-aslanyan.bsky.social on the Winter Olympics. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...
Anna Aslanyan | Esperanto on Ice
‘Let the Minion skate!’ people were urging on social media days before the start of the Winter Olympics. Universal...
lrb.co.uk
My review of Maria Stepanova's novel, translated by Sasha Dugdale and published by @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 7mo agoThe Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova review – a poetic exploration of Russian guilt
Reviewed Jacqueline Riding's Hard Streets: Working-Class Lives in Charlie Chaplin’s London for @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/0545...
Hard Streets — Charlie Chaplin and the Lambeth boys made good
Jacqueline Riding’s meticulously researched history paints a vivid picture of working-class London in the Victorian and Edwardian eras
ft.com
When a whale swam into the Thames 20 years ago, some called her Willy, others, Wally. This, for the avoidance of doubt, is Sally the seal. She came ashore in Wapping and feels at home here.
