In this episode of the Norton Library Podcast, we welcome translator Michael R. Katz and scholar of Russian literature Kate Holland to chat about one of the most celebrated figures in all of Russian literature: Nikolai Gogol. We discuss the influence of Gogol's Ukrainian background on his acclaimed short fiction as well as the challenges—and delights—of translating his singular comedic voice.

Michael R. Katz is C. V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and East European Studies at Middlebury College. He has published translations of more than fifteen Russian novels, including Crime and Punishment, Notes from Underground, and The Brothers Karamazov.

Kate Holland is Associate Professor of Russian Literature in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto. She is the author of The Novel in the Age of Disintegration: Dostoevsky and the Problem of Genre in the 1870s. She is President of the North American Dostoevsky Society.

To learn more or purchase a copy of the Norton Library edition of Selected Tales, go to https://seagull.wwnorton.com/selectedtales.

Learn more about the Norton Library series at https://wwnorton.com/norton-library.

Listen to our Spotify playlist inspired by Selected Tales: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0yzq1CO0wvOhq70CIk6Xar?si=6a4e9e7f261d470c.

Have questions or suggestions for the podcast? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter @TNL_WWN.

Episode transcript at: https://seagull.wwnorton.com/selectedtales/part1/transcript.