People and Celebrations. The Calendar of Culture

A collection of the most important cultural events, built on a new author’s genre—“culture saints” (sвятцы культуры). A calendar of non-trivial dates: on the virtual pages you won’t find recipes for pickling cucumbers or a section “This Day in History.” Instead, you’ll get an interesting fact or an unusual reflection on the familiar. Continuation of the “Reading Lessons” series.

Alexander Genis (“Dovlatov and Surroundings”, “Return Address”, “Kamasutra of a Bookworm”) turned to the new genre—a calendar, or “culture saints.” The birthdays of beloved writers, artists, and directors, as well as of radio, the internet, and the iPhone, he considers personal holidays and includes them alongside widely accepted and peculiar celebrations.

The author doesn’t compete with “Wikipedia” and carefully avoids the trivial—offering the reader a brief but original thought, an unexpected metaphor, not a rehearsed joke, and an unvarnished definition of essence. Gradually, from the calendar mosaic, a panel is formed in which the author’s traits appear without his will.

“Culture that this book worships doesn’t save the world. But it protects those who can’t live without it. Preserving this layer, it forms a worldwide, multilingual, anachronistic brotherhood of spirit—anyone who wants to, “so as not to perish alone,” can join it.”