About this episode
The episode explores Kurt Vonnegut's popularity in the Soviet Union and features an interview with Sarah Phillips about her book on the subject.
I went through my Kurt Vonnegut phase in my late teens. I read Player Piano, Cat’s Cradle , I think, Deadeye Dick , and of course, Slaughterhouse Five . I can’t say I remember much from those novels. Nor can I recall why Vonnegut connected with me. Perhaps now is a good time to revisit them. Little did I know that Vonnegut had a large readership in the Soviet Union. His books were translated by Rita Rait-Kovaleva and published in hundreds of thousands of copies. And in late Soviet fashion they were also passed around by hand to those who couldn’t secure copies. What did Soviet readers see in Kurt Vonnegut? How did the authorities regard this so-called “Anti-American American”? And what did Vonnegut think about his Soviet fans? Sarah Phillips wondered too after she participated in a project on Vonnegut. The result is her book, Kurt Vonnegut in the USSR . Sarah reached out to us, so we booked an interview. It turns out that Vonnegut has transcultural appeal. There’s even a revival in Ukraine. But what does Vonnegut’s popularity among Soviet youth say about really existing state socialism? Tune in to find out. Guest: Sarah Phillips is professor of anthropology at Indiana…
People in this episode
Guest: Sarah Phillips
Topics covered
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Soviet literature
- transcultural appeal
- youth culture
- state socialism
- literary translation
Keywords
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Soviet Union
- literature
- transcultural appeal
- Sarah Phillips
- youth
- state socialism
- literary translation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Indiana University-Bloomington, Indiana University Press, Bloomsbury
Books & works: Player Piano, Cat’s Cradle, Deadeye Dick, Slaughterhouse Five
Places: Soviet Union, Ukraine
More episodes of The Eurasian Knot
- Anastas Mikoyan · June 10, 2026 · 50 min
- Soviet Holocaust Literature · June 4, 2026 · 54 min
- The Russian Paradox · May 27, 2026 · 51 min
- The Post-Soviet Human Condition · May 11, 2026 · 1h 9m
- Bye, Bye Orban · May 4, 2026 · 50 min
- The Georgian August 1924 Uprising · May 1, 2026 · 50 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Eurasian Knot podcast page.