Diaspora Reads: Community, Identity, and Russian Literaturocentrism

Diaspora Reads explores the role of literature and reading practices in the community life of Russian-speaking migrants in Britain. Russophone culture abounds with myths about the special mission of literature and the writer in society. The broader cultural myth of Russian literaturo-centrism encompasses the sanctification of highbrow litera-ture, the idolisation of authors as heroes and martyrs, and the idealisation of avid readership. In the diaspora, litera-turocentrism takes on a new form, retaining elements of the Russian and Soviet tradition while primarily responding to the needs of migrant readers. Following the discussions, games, and celebrations of a com-munity book club in London, Diaspora Reads dem-onstrates how collective reading enables migrants to shape shared cultural identities, forge communities, build a long-distance relationship with their homelands, and become members of a global network of readers.

Angelos Theocharis is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Media, Culture, Heritage at Newcastle University.