Sarah Gear

I teach Russian language at beginners’, sub-honours, and honours levels, with modules focusing on grammar, literature, and translation.

My research examines contemporary Russian fiction, with particular focus on publishing networks that operate beyond the borders of the Russian Federation. I am also interested in the politics of literary translation, specifically the ways in which personal and institutional political bias influence the commission, translation and reception of contemporary Russian literature when it is brought into English, and I have a book on the topic forthcoming.

My research directly informs my literature teaching, which foregrounds contemporary authors such as Alla Gorbunova, Maxim Osipov, Alisa Ganieva, and Ludmila Petrushevskaya. I also explore the work of Russophone writers living outside Russia, and of authors whose texts reach international audiences through Russian as a pivot language.

My engagement with literary translation extends beyond the Russian context. As Assistant Interview Editor at the literary translation journal Asymptote, I have conducted and published interviews with a range of authors and translators, including Georgi Gospodinov, Andrey Kurkov, Boris Dralyuk, Mikhail Shishkin, Anton Hur, Shelley Fairweather-Vega, and Jen Calleja.