WORD FROM THE NORTH

Russia has gifted the literary canon with countless heavyweights, many of whom have turned a sharp and critical eye on the country’s restrictive state. Russia is Restless takes a close look at the tumultuous nation’s contributions to the larger cultural landscape. Tonight, Restless Books brings together in conversation Hamid Ismailov, a prolific, exiled Uzbek writer whose works of journalism, fiction, and poetry have been published in multiple languages, and Boris Fishman, the Minsk-born author whose debut novel, A Replacement Life, was called “bold, ambitious, and wickedly smart” by the New York Times. Hear these two literary lions discuss the implications for creativity and free speech in today’s Russia, over a three-course, home-style Russian meal with wine and a shot of infused vodka.

Fri., Sept. 19, 7 p.m., 2014