In the Jaws of the Crocodile: A Soviet Memoir
crocodile
In the Jaws of the Crocodile: A Soviet Memoir
by Emil Draitser

In this captivating memoir, Draitser explores what it means to be a satirist in a country lacking freedom of expression. His experience provides a window into the lives of a generation of artists who were allowed to poke fun and make readers laugh, as long as they toed a narrow, state-approved line. “In the Jaws of the Crocodile” also includes several of Draitser’s wry pieces translated into English for the first time.

Also on our Bookshelf:

by Boris Kokotov

The collection includes poems by the author written in 2020-2023. While they are distinguished by thematic and genre diversity, and the metrical form is adjacent to free verse, they are united by the author’s characteristic style and recognizable intonation. (Russian edition)

by Marina Eskin (Eskina)

“The Lingering Twilight” (“Сумерки”) is Marina Eskin’s fifth book of poems. In Russian.

by Ilya Perelmuter (editor)

Launched in 2012, “Four Centuries” is an international electronic magazine of Russian poetry in translation.

by Nina Kossman

A collection of moving, often funny vignettes about a childhood spent in the Soviet Union.

“Vivid picture of life behind the Iron Curtain.” —Booklist
“This unique book will serve to promote discussions of freedom.” —School Library Journal

by Maria Galina

A book of poems by Maria Galina, put together and completed exactly one day before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is Galina’s seventh book of poems. With translations by Anna Halberstadt and Ainsley Morse.

by Ian Probstein

A new collection of poems by Ian Probstein. (In Russian)