‘COULD YOU SEND ME THE PROOFS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE?’ IVAN BUNIN’S CORRESPONDENCE WITH VADIM RUDNEV IN 1933–1934

Abstract

The paper tells the story of Ivan Bunin’s correspondence with Vadim Rudnev (dating from 1933-1934), managing editor of the Paris-based Russian émigré journal Sovremennie zapiski. Judging by the quoted letters, Bunin did not sever ties with the journal, despite what many researchers suggest; nor did he plan to snub the editors by refusing to send in new works. If we accept Bunin’s own words about his very fastidious approach to proofreading, it becomes clear why he barely published any new works in the period from 1934 to 1936. It was in those years that the Berlin-headquartered publishing company Petropolis printed his collected works in 11 volumes. It was to become Bunin’s last fundamental publication, comprising works entirely proofread by the writer himself. It is only natural that such a humungous effort had affected the ageing writer’s productivity, and Bunin simply could not generate new material for the journal.