My Morrin—Translating Indigenous Fiction: A Conversation with translator Irina Sadovina
Learn about the experience of translating Russian Indigenous fiction and listen to exceprts from the novel White Moss.
This event will showcase the recent English translation of the novel White Moss (Pushkin Press, 2026) by literary translator Irina Sadovina. Written in Russian by Anna Nerkagi, an author from the Indigenous Nenets community, White Moss is a multi-faceted drama on transmissions and transitions, questioning what it means to be home on one’s territory and in one’s language(s). On April 2nd, join translator Irina Sadovina, in conversation with host Jeanne Mathieu-Lessard, to discuss the experience of translating Russian Indigenous fiction and to hear excerpts from the novel White Moss.
The interview and readings will be in English, and will be followed by a bilingual (French and English) Q & A with the audience.
White Moss, by Anna Nerkagi (Pushkin Press, 2026)
On the eve of his wedding, young Alyoshka pines for an earlier love. Ilne chose to leave the nomadic Nenets community seven years before, moving to the city and taking his heart with her. Under increasing pressure to marry, Alyoshka struggles against the ancient Nenets customs of home and family, unwilling to give up his hope for another life. Meanwhile, other painful transitions shake the foundations of the small camp. Deep in northern Siberia, minor human tragedies play out against the cold expanse of the tundra. With bursts of lyricism and a Chekhovian eye for human frailty, Anna Nerkagi crafts a multi-voiced drama of lost love and the clash between youthful dreams and the complex ties of home.
Credit Anna Fenina
Translator
Irina Sadovina translates literature from Russian and Mari. Her translations and writing appeared in publications like Prototype, Meniscus, Calvert Journal, and ellipse. She received the 2021 Australasian Association of Writing Programs Translation Prize and was a 2021-2022 National Centre for Writing Emerging Translator Mentee. She teaches at the University of Sheffield.
Author*
Anna Nerkagi was born in 1951 in the Polar Ural tundra, and she belongs to the Indigenous Nenets community. As a child, she was separated from her parents by the Soviet authorities and sent to a boarding school, and she later studied at Tyumen Technical University. She published her debut novel, Aniko of the Nogo Clan, in 1976, and in 1980 she returned to the Yamal Peninsula and the nomadic way of life. There she started the Tundra School for Nenets Children, where she still works as a teacher, blending traditional and modern forms of education. Nerkagi’s work has been translated into five languages, and White Moss was adapted into the first-ever Nenets-language feature film.
*Please note that author Anna Nerkagi will not be present at this event which focuses on the translation of her book.