New East Digital Archive

Matt Janney

Matt Janney

Matthew is a contributor for The Calvert Journal. Graduating from Oxford with a Masters degree in Modern Languages, Matthew has a particular focus on Russian literature, specialising in the works of Vladimir Nabokov. Matthew has spent time living in both Russia and Georgia.

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk — ambitious, daring, encyclopaedic

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk — ambitious, daring, encyclopaedic

What to read in 2022: 10 books from Eastern Europe to embrace the world more closely

What to read in 2022: 10 books from Eastern Europe to embrace the world more closely

‘I wanted this book to be a reconciliation of different generations’: Lea Ypi on growing up in communist Albania

‘I wanted this book to be a reconciliation of different generations’: Lea Ypi on growing up in communist Albania

The cult novel that defined Georgian independence 30 years ago

The cult novel that defined Georgian independence 30 years ago

‘Instinct for catastrophe’: French writer Jakuta Alikavazovic on the ghosts of the Yugoslav war

‘Instinct for catastrophe’: French writer Jakuta Alikavazovic on the ghosts of the Yugoslav war

‘Our city froze’: rereading Kolau Nadiradze’s 1921 poem on Georgia’s lost golden age of independence

‘Our city froze’: rereading Kolau Nadiradze’s 1921 poem on Georgia’s lost golden age of independence

Memory, migrants, magic: 11 books to look forward to in 2021

Memory, migrants, magic: 11 books to look forward to in 2021

Young in the 90s: in her debut novel, director Nana Ekvtimishvili explores a decade most Georgians want to forget

Young in the 90s: in her debut novel, director Nana Ekvtimishvili explores a decade most Georgians want to forget

8 Eastern European summer love novels to make your heart flutter

8 Eastern European summer love novels to make your heart flutter

‘No-Signal Area’: a piercing novel on the villains and victims of capitalism

‘No-Signal Area’: a piercing novel on the villains and victims of capitalism

Get to know Georgian culture with Gen-Z tunes, arthouse films and dark comedy

Get to know Georgian culture with Gen-Z tunes, arthouse films and dark comedy

Vivid and richly detailed, ‘Catherine the Great and the Small’ explores a migrant’s fragmented identity

Vivid and richly detailed, ‘Catherine the Great and the Small’ explores a migrant’s fragmented identity

In Maria Reva’s Kafkaesque satire, puzzled occupants discover their Soviet tower block doesn’t exist

In Maria Reva’s Kafkaesque satire, puzzled occupants discover their Soviet tower block doesn’t exist

Armenia’s Narine Abgaryan weaves a story of transgenerational trauma amid the folds of fairytale prose

Armenia’s Narine Abgaryan weaves a story of transgenerational trauma amid the folds of fairytale prose

Can you ever truly know your mother? In the novel The Doll, Ismail Kadare thinks you can’t

Can you ever truly know your mother? In the novel The Doll, Ismail Kadare thinks you can’t

By the book: 9 new titles to get in your literary calendar in 2020

By the book: 9 new titles to get in your literary calendar in 2020

Poland’s rising star of fiction conjures a consumerist dystopia that will make you laugh and cry

Poland’s rising star of fiction conjures a consumerist dystopia that will make you laugh and cry

5 minute guide to Riga: art nouveau and a thriving literary culture in this charming Baltic capital

5 minute guide to Riga: art nouveau and a thriving literary culture in this charming Baltic capital

This new book captures the history and reality of the black experience in Russia and Europe

This new book captures the history and reality of the black experience in Russia and Europe

These 9 books will tell you everything you need to know about the New East now

These 9 books will tell you everything you need to know about the New East now

In bed with Nabokov: a new book explores the strange dreams of a master novelist

In bed with Nabokov: a new book explores the strange dreams of a master novelist

Other Russias review: Victoria Lomasko mixes art and reportage in this powerful national portrait

Other Russias review: Victoria Lomasko mixes art and reportage in this powerful national portrait

Moscow’s new Zaryadye Park to undergo restoration just days after public opening

Moscow’s new Zaryadye Park to undergo restoration just days after public opening

Future Architecture Festival to kick off in Ljubljana this September

Future Architecture Festival to kick off in Ljubljana this September

British actor and director Ralph Fiennes granted Serbian citizenship

British actor and director Ralph Fiennes granted Serbian citizenship

New bronze statue of Stalin to be unveiled in Moscow

New bronze statue of Stalin to be unveiled in Moscow

Calvert 22 Space to host Fashion and the Revolution talk this Thursday 14 September

Calvert 22 Space to host Fashion and the Revolution talk this Thursday 14 September

Meet the young Franco-Russian designer and her ‘blob-shaped’ porcelain bowls

Meet the young Franco-Russian designer and her ‘blob-shaped’ porcelain bowls

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: the longlist

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: the longlist

‘Wild urbanism’ comes to heart of Moscow as Zaryadye Park opens to public

‘Wild urbanism’ comes to heart of Moscow as Zaryadye Park opens to public

Diesel shoots new campaign on famous Kiev bridge

Diesel shoots new campaign on famous Kiev bridge

Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia exhibition opens next week at British Museum

Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia exhibition opens next week at British Museum

Tbilisi Photo Festival 2017: who, what, where and when

Tbilisi Photo Festival 2017: who, what, where and when

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