Subject
great 20th-century writers like Vladimir Nabokov,
Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova . . .
Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova . . .
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[EDNOTE. Sandy Klein sends this article from Russian Profile magazine
of 24 April 2006. -- SES]
The Return of Meaning
Literature No Longer Looking as Far Back
By Dmitry Babich
The search for the answers to life's "accursed questions," as they are
known in the Russian tradition, dealing with issues of social justice,
religious truth and the meanings of life has been, perhaps, a bigger
part of the history of Russian literature than any other over the past
200 years. The decade or so that followed the breakup of the Soviet
Union in 1991 was filled with charges that an onslaught of pulp fiction
was destroying the Russian tradition of serious literature.
Ironically, the 1990s have come to represent for many more highbrow
authors and literary critics not a wasteland, but actually a gold mine.
While there may have been a paucity of quality works created during the
period, authors are finding the post-1991 years to be a rich find as
subject matter for a return to the more traditional path. For many
readers, it is about time.
The 1990s were an active time for publishing in Russia, but a large part
of the titles produced were in the genre of the historical expose,
revealing the seamier side of the Soviet past, written by both the old
familiar masters and not-so-old writers in their 30s and 40s. Literary
history and biography both flourished as genres, with much new research
being published about great 20th-century writers like Vladimir Nabokov,
Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova.
Here is a link to the website with the rest of the article:
http://www.russiaprofile.org/culture/2006/4/24/3569.wbp
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
of 24 April 2006. -- SES]
The Return of Meaning
Literature No Longer Looking as Far Back
By Dmitry Babich
The search for the answers to life's "accursed questions," as they are
known in the Russian tradition, dealing with issues of social justice,
religious truth and the meanings of life has been, perhaps, a bigger
part of the history of Russian literature than any other over the past
200 years. The decade or so that followed the breakup of the Soviet
Union in 1991 was filled with charges that an onslaught of pulp fiction
was destroying the Russian tradition of serious literature.
Ironically, the 1990s have come to represent for many more highbrow
authors and literary critics not a wasteland, but actually a gold mine.
While there may have been a paucity of quality works created during the
period, authors are finding the post-1991 years to be a rich find as
subject matter for a return to the more traditional path. For many
readers, it is about time.
The 1990s were an active time for publishing in Russia, but a large part
of the titles produced were in the genre of the historical expose,
revealing the seamier side of the Soviet past, written by both the old
familiar masters and not-so-old writers in their 30s and 40s. Literary
history and biography both flourished as genres, with much new research
being published about great 20th-century writers like Vladimir Nabokov,
Boris Pasternak and Anna Akhmatova.
Here is a link to the website with the rest of the article:
http://www.russiaprofile.org/culture/2006/4/24/3569.wbp
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm