Soviet Milk
Soviet Milk is an online seminar on Tuesday, November 16th, 2022 (at 6pm GMT/UK time) celebrating, and exploring, the symbolism of breastfeeding in literature – not just in the former Soviet nations, but internationally. We will also discuss the importance of preserving breastfeeding as a cultural practice in order to preserve bonds between different generations of mothers and daughters.
Our guest of honour is award-winning Latvian author, Nora Ikstena, whose 2015 novel Mātes piens (published by Peirene Press in the UK as Soviet Milk) is about exactly this: three generations of Latvian women connected by mothers’ milk. Joining us in this discussion will be B.J. Epstein (University of East Anglia), a scholar, translator, IBCLC, and author of Portrayals of Breasts and Breastfeeding in Literature (forthcoming 2022, Anthem Press); Maddie Rogers, the publishing assistant at Peirene and the host of the Borderless Book Club for new translated fiction; and Meike Zeirvogel, founding editor of Peirene Press and author of several novels with motherhood themes, including her acclaimed Magda (2013) and most recently Flotsam (2019).
All welcome; please register here for free to receive the Zoom link on the day of the event.