Linor Goralik

Linor Goralik (; born Yuliya Borisovna Goralik; on 9 July 1975) is an Israeli author, poet, artist, essayist and marketing specialist.

Biography

Early years and family

She was born on 9 July 1975 in a Jewish family in Dnipropetrovsk, in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (now Dnipro in Ukraine).

Her family emigrated to Israel in 1989. In her interviews she said that she became seriously interested in mathematics at the age of 10. She studied computer science from 1991 to 1994 at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba.

In 1999, with the help of Alexander Zhitinsky she published her first book of poetry.

Moscow period

Goralik lived in Moscow from 2000 to 2014. She worked there as a journalist and marketing analyst. At that period she translated works of Etgar Keret and Vytautas Pliura (with Stanislav Lvovsky). She also started working in cultural marketing, with Stanislav Lvovsky she organized several art exhibitions and projects, bringing contemporary Israeli culture to Moscow.

She is a regular contributor to the magazines Teoriya Modi (‘Fashion Theory’), New Literary Review, she also has a column on the cultural studies of contemporary costume in the newspaper Vedomosti.

The Hare named FML

In 2006, she created a series of comics about ‘the Hare named FML’ (in Russian mat, his name is abbreviated ‘pizdetz’). In the scenes, the protagonist encounters his imaginary friends, their dialogs are full of sad irony and ‘touching cynicism’. As Goralik puts it, ‘he is about politics and everyday survival’.

After the 2014 annexation of Crimea she returned to Israel, but continued to travel between the two countries until November 2021. She is a vocal opponent to Vladimir Putin's regime and to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In August 2023 Goralik was added to Russia's list of ‘foreign agents’, according to the Russian Ministry of Justice Goralik had spoken out against Russia’s “special military operation in Ukraine” (Russia's official term for the invasion of Ukraine) and had "created or disseminated materials for foreign agents.”.

Personal life

Goralik confesses that she has bipolar disorder, which she is treating with the help of a psychologist, psychotherapist and medication.

Works

The Book of Quotations, "Цитатник" (poems, 1999, ) Outsiders, "Не местные" (2003, ) The Tale About The Northern Lights, "Сказка о северном сиянии" (with Yuriy Sorochkin) (2003) The Tale About Fairy Metal, "Сказка о волшебном металле". (with Yuriy Sorochkin) (2004) No (alternative English title - PG-21), "Нет" (novel, with Sergey Kuznetsov, 2004, ) Half the Sky, "Половина неба" (novel, with Stanislav Lvovsky, ) Speaks, "Говорит" (2004, ) Meals not for Kids, "Недетская еда" (2004, ) The Book of Lonelinesses, "Книга одиночеств" (2004, with Max Frei) A Hollow Woman. Barbie's World Inside and Outside, "Полая женщина. Мир Барби: изнутри и снаружи" (2005, ) Martin Isn't Crying, "Мартин не плачет" (fable, 2007, ) Pull the Hook Hard, Petrusha, "Подсекай, Петруша" (poems, 2007, ) Meals not for Kids. Without Desserts, "Недетская еда. Без сладкого" (2007, ) The Hare Named FML, "Заяц ПЦ" (comics, 2007, ) The Hare Named FML 2.0, "Заяц ПЦ 2.0" (comics, 2008) In Short, "Короче" (flash fiction, 2008, ) Agatha Goes Home, "Агата возвращается домой" (fable, 2008, ) The Hare Named FML 3.0, "Заяц ПЦ 3.0" (comics, 2008), reissue (2011) Valery, "Валерий" (novelette, 2011) The Folklore of the Sector M1 Inhabitants, "Устное народное творчество обитателей сектора М1" (flash fiction and poems, 2011) The Bible Zoo, "Библейский зоопарк". Серия "Чейсовская коллекция" (М.: Текст, 2012) A Guide to Israel (only and exclusively) for Kids, "Путеводитель по Израилю (только и исключительно) для детей" (M.: Текст, 2013) Private Persons. Biographies of Poets Told by Themselves, "Частные лица. Биографии поэтов, рассказанные ими самими" (M.: Новое литературное обозрение, 2013) So It Was A Whistle, "Так это был гудочек" (poems, Ozolnieki: Literature Without Borders, 2015, ) Found Life: Poems, Stories, Comics, a Play, and an Interview (Columbia University Press, 2017). Edited by Ainsley Morse, Maria Vassileva, and Maya Vinokour. ) Agatha Looks Up, "Агата смотрит вверх" (М.: Livebook, 2017) The Vespers Beast, "Всенощная зверь" (poems, Ozolnieki: Literature Without Borders, 2019) A Guide to Israel, "Путеводитель по Израилю" (М., 2019) The 203 Stories About The Dresses, "203 истории про платья" (with Maria Voul) (М., 2019) The Cold Water of Venisana, "Холодная вода Венисаны" (young adult fantasy, M.: Livebook, 2019); second edition, 2021 All who are capable of breathing the breath, Все, Способные дышать дыхание (М.: АСТ, 2019, ) Martin Isn't Crying, "Мартин не плачет" (fable with illustrations by author, М., 2021). The Double Bridges of Venisana, "Двойные мосты Венисаны" (М.: Livebook, 2021). The Secret Passages of Venisana, "Тайные ходы Венисаны" (М.: Livebook, 2021) Named After That One, "Имени такого-то" 15 (М.: Новое литературное обозрение, 2022 ) The Black Fire of Venisana, "Черный огонь Венисаны" (М.: Livebook, 2022) Bobo Bobo (2023)