To Say is to Show: Translingualism and Multimodality in Ilya Kaminsky and Pavel Ulitin

This essay examines the correlation between translingual literary techniques and multimodality in the works of two authors: Ilya Kaminsky (1977–), an American poet of Ukrainian origin, and Pavel Ulitin (1918–1986), a Soviet-era Russian writer. Both authors integrate multiple languages and visual elements in their writing, often resulting in the interplay of synaesthetic modes of perception. By arguing that Kaminsky’s and Ulitin’s works gravitate toward a more visual logic – functioning as both text and sign – this essay explores the proposition that there may be a connection between literary multilingualism and modal extensions towards visuality in writing.