What’s new in the poetry of Udmurtia?

Abstract

The article defines the poetry of Udmurtia as a concept that, firstly, describes works created in the Udmurt language (Udmurt poetry) and, secondly, those written in Russian (Udmurtia’s Russian poetry). The author mainly discusses the region’s poetry created in the Russian language, which is naturally influenced by Udmurt poetry (and the other way round): this mutual impact can be traced in vocabulary, imagery, subject and motifs. Mentioned among the trends that distinguish Udmurtia’s poetry among other Russian regions are enthusiasm about the Udmurt language and all that makes up the Udmurt identity, a tendency towards the exotic, as well as the preoccupation with the problem of identity, be it ethnic, territorial, cultural, gender, or lyrical. In addition, the article considers behavioural and aesthetic strategies adopted by contemporary Russian-speaking Udmurt poets and identifies the key artistic tendencies typical of the region’s poetry.