‘No good at all but I love him’ The poetics of K. Chukovsky’s diaries

Abstract

The critic Chukovsky noted that an artist may remain unaware of their own views. These, however, will find an outlet sooner or later, with the writer none the wiser, and it is the fondness for particular tropes that usually reveals them. Therefore, close attention to the author’s writing style opens the way to understanding their ideas. The article applies the method proposed by Chukovsky to reading his diaries. The objective of the research is to identify Chukovsky’s philosophy by examining his writing. The analysis shows that Chukovsky’s technique combines objective-scientific observations and subjective-emotional evaluations, with the two often disagreeing or even contradicting each other. Such dualism explains Chukovsky’s love of paradox: something profoundly imperfect is hailed as admirable, and human weaknesses (or flaws in a work of literature) are interpreted as essential. Chukovsky’s unique worldview is characterized by its holism. Such an angle allows to see the whole as something much bigger than its parts.