Authors 2009

Ruben Gallego

Ruben David Gonzalez Gallego (born 1968) was born with severe cerebral palsy in Moscow, Russia. Gallego was separated from his family at the age of one; he was sent to a state orphanage, because his grandfather, Ignacio Gallego, who was Secretary-General of the Spanish Communist Party, was ashamed of him and told his daughter (who was Ruben's mother) that her son had died. Born without the use of hands and feet, Ruben Gallego was tenacious and survived to adulthood, eventually marrying and having children. He lived in Russia and worked as a computer specialist until 2000, when he was reunited with his mother. Gallego now lives in Washington, USA.
His memoir, which won the Russian Booker Prize, was translated into English and published in January 2006, As White on Black: A Boy's story. An abridged version of the memoir was read on the Book of the Week program on BBC Radio 4 in the week of March 20-24, 2006.

Teatro Sociale, Saturday September 19th, 18.00

Ruben Gallego will meet Babel’s public also on Thursday 17th, at the Cinema Forum, coinciding with the projection of the film-documentary Siluro rosso. Ruben Gallego, by Mara Chiaretti.

Elena Gori Corti

Translator, amongst some of her translated authors are Aleksandr Zinov’ev, Vladimir Maksimov, Andrey Sakharov, Elena Bonner, Vladimir Bukovsky, Viktor Suvorov, Vasil’ Bykov, Viktor Erofeev, Ramon Gonzales Gallego, Boris Nemtsov. She also writes for «Corriere della Sera», «Il Tempo», «Espresso».