The article considers all contexts for the famous phrase, ‘Was there any boy at all?’ found in the novel The Life of Klim Samgin [Zhizn’ Klima Samgina] and indicative of its universality, and attempts to reveal its possible literary sources (lines from the letters by A. Blok and M. Prishvin, and N. Berberova’s poems). The meaning of the recurrent phrase is examined through the author’s philosophical influences (Protagoras, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche), with a particular stress on the connection between Gorky and Schopenhauer, to this day largely neglected by Gorky scholars. The author believes that the leitmotif, ‘Was there any boy at all?’ extends beyond a rhetorical device into a highly generalized philosophical formula of the ‘new’ Gorky, a key to the numerous mysteries in his last work. The use of the allegory brings up those aspects of Gorky’s worldview that explain his tendency towards auctorial narration; enrich our understanding of the emphasis he put on the key principle of ‘the will’, where the Nietzschean interpretation correlates and clashes with the Schopenhauerian one. They also introduce the concept of chaos as a major characteristic of the world in Gorky’s view, which accounts for the grotesque (reminiscent of Bosch) and avant-garde features of his poetics.

The article examines the reception of M. Gorky in Italy in the late 19th – early 20th centuries, and the process of his becoming mythologized. Right from the beginning, Italians’ idea of Gorky gets woven into the European myth about Russia, with him epitomizing the Russian soul and blending with the stereotypical Russian landscape. Early Italian reception of Gorky’s autobiography never distinguishes between his life story and creative work: both critics and common readers draw their idea of the Russian author from biographical sketches as well as his own writings, seen as a proof compelling enough to influence critical reviews and biographies devoted to Gorky. On Gorky’s arrival in Italy, his image becomes more nuanced, more details about his life and work come to light, and the press starts printing personal accounts of meetings with him. But the key elements of the Gorky myth survive and keep shaping Italian perceptions of him. It wasn’t until much later that Italians stopped interpreting Gorky through the myth about Russia and the Russian soul.

Written in the genre of the so-called ‘critical obituary’, this paper is devoted to the works of the recently deceased novelist Yury Maletsky and examines his prose as confessions, which combine deep soul searching and a passionate attempt to learn more about ‘the other’s inner space’. Inspired by L. Tolstoy in his dealings with the other’s psychology, Y. Maletsky also follows V. Rozanov in his uninhibited, paradoxical and impressionistic narration. As a result of this combination of two artistic styles, Maletsky faithfully exercises Tolstoy’s philosophy of expression, while baring his own mind and soul without hesitation. The author believes that it was through ‘overcoming Tolstoy’ with ‘Rozanov’s method’ that Maletsky shines the brightest.

The latest addition into Voprosy Literatury’s new section, ‘Only children’s books to read...’, this article by T. Solovyova takes a close look at works by the contemporary author L. S. Christensen, widely popular well beyond his native Norway. Christensen owes his fame to his deep yet unobtrusive psychologism, the ability to present children with a comprehensible picture of the story (or history, as his novels play out in a broad historical concept), as well as the motives and feelings of the characters. Such features of his writing style are displayed in his novels The Half Brother [Halvbroren] (2004), Chasm [Sluk] (2014), and Herman (2017), which combine stories about contemporary teenagers with an expansive historical background, familiarizing young readers with the major facts and tragedies of the 20th century. The critic analyses Christensen’s creative method, looking for mainstream elements typical of modern children’s books, as well as for the author’s unique touches.

The article examines the versatile depiction of problems by contemporary literary criticism and the diversity of its genres and styles. Given the current convergence of genres and their mutual penetration, there are several borderline traditions where contemporary critics find themselves working: one is memoirs, playing into the critics’ desire to feel involved in literary events and their itch to compare ‘what we have’ with ‘what once was’; another is the Facebook-inspired genre of ‘prompt response’; yet another comprises all kinds of reviews and ‘recommended reading lists’. It is hard to miss the fact that the very forms of critique have changed dramatically, and that critics are more than ever influenced by a whole number of extratextual factors, be it in prose, poetry, or during distribution of literary prizes. A need arises to take a close look at the achievements and prospects of literary criticism in the 2000s–2010s, and to come up with a new perspective for interpretation of modern critique: which is exactly the purpose of the new column Metacriticism in Voprosy Literatury, introduced by this article.

A review of books on contemporary poetry published in Yekaterinburg and dealing mostly with authors from the Urals region. The paper focuses on K. Komarov’s Contemplating Texts. A collection of articles and reviews [Byt’ pri tekste. Kniga statey i retsenziy] and Y. Podlubnova’s Unidentifiable Air. A book on contemporary Urals poetry [Neuznavaemiy vozdukh. Kniga o sovremennoy uralskoy poezii]. The authors are renowned champions of two opposing literary traditions: while Podlubnova favours ‘relevant poetry’ in its local, Urals-based, version, Komarov sides with the so-called ‘new traditionalism’ with its rejection of any experimentation with meters and auctorial conscience, except as a means to an end. The paper seeks to reveal the ways in which the critic’s personal stance manifests in his/her works and shapes his/her aesthetic judgement.

The paper offers a detailed analysis of Andrey Bely’s (melo)declamatory style in the context of his poetic and theoretical experimentations. Bely’s contemporaries described his recitals as adhering to the typically ‘decadent’ manner of declamation: with the poem’s meter emphasized by monotonous melodization. On examining the written mentions of his recitals, one is moved to agree with Bernstein’s statement that the poet had undergone a change in his declamatory manner, confirmed by Bely himself. And indeed, a first-ever digital analysis of the audio recordings made by Bernstein in chronological order sheds light on the inner causes of Bely’s poetic experimentation (‘melodism’) in his later years, and, together with the printed version of the poetry, points to the connection between the poet’s declamatory style and the general direction in which he went with his work as a poet and a theorist. Bely’s later poetry called for two distinctive manners of recital: one, relatively stable in terms of pauses and melodization, for traditional meters, and the other, more elaborate, for his ‘melodic’ verses. The latter is more in affinity with the poet’s manner of reciting his rhythmical prose. The two declamatory styles originate in the voiceless recital during composition, as described by Bely to Bernstein.

Writing of song lyrics is a popular genre that has always promptly reacted to any social and political developments, ever since the times of the French fair-ground and pageant performers – a tradition partially inherited by some of the Sixtiers bards. The paper discusses the topic of a new form of journalism stemming from the genre. The authors and performers working in this synthetic genre found a new form of the news report song, a unique symbiosis of journalism and for-performance poetry thriving in the second half of the 20th century. This complex genre of song writing and performing covers not only a poetic text, but a whole range of journalistic features, with a strong emphasis on operation of the categories of media quality and documentary accuracy in the lyrical delivery of the material. This publication analyzes the background of the new multistructural genre of the news coverage song, equally belonging to journalism and literature, as well as its nature, specifics, problems, themes, and language.

The annotated transcript of V. Aksyonov’s radio program about V. Vysotsky recorded at the Radio Svoboda studios in July 1983. Aksyonov confessed that, although he had gotten used to all sorts of things during his life in emigration, he still struggled to accept the fact that ‘Volodya was no longer with us’. V. Aksyonov reminisces about his encounters with Vysotsky, sharing various stories from his life and the origins of the Metropol almanac.

The article is about Vasily Aksyonov’s story Overstocked Packaging Barrels [Zatovarennaya bochkotara], published half a century ago in the journal Yunost’ (1968, no. 3). The publication could have marked a turnaround in the writer’s career and sent big waves across Soviet literature at the time. The story is analyzed in the context of Khrushchev’s Thaw, permeating the country’s social and cultural spheres. Examples of such context include works by the poet E. Evtushenko and the film director E. Klimov. The paper captures responses to the story from the critics E. Sidorov and S. Rassadin, who pointed out the issue of ‘the good man’ in Soviet literature and the problem of artistic conventions correlating with a thoroughly realistic description of reality. The author also draws comparisons of the story to Gogol’s works and their reception by his contemporaries. The article includes a close examination of the dreams and their function in the story. In a tone of disappointment, the author concludes that the publication of Overstocked Packaging Barrels failed to revitalize the country’s cultural landscape, even though it became a literary highlight of the period and, 50 years later, found its place amongst the classical texts of Russian 20th century literature.

The article is devoted to B. Okudzhava’s story Lots of Luck, Kid [Bud’ zdorov, shkolyar]. An unconventional depiction of war, it defies the conventional canon of Soviet prose about the Great Patriotic War. With its episodes about impending peril, starvation on the front lines, muddled up orders, feelings of loneliness and hopelessness, it debunks the traditional image of a soldier as a brave romantic who fights fascism with an ideological determination. Okudzhava shows the dark side of war with all of its irrational havoc.

The article examines the role of the Writers’ Union of the USSR and the country’s individual authors in the organization of the World Youth Festival in Moscow in 1957. The forum helped rekindle the literary connections and reestablish contacts with European and American writers which had been severed in the late 1930s. Besides, young writers from Africa, Asia and South America were able to visit the festival. This forum was a highly significant international event which grasped the attention of the writers from most Soviet republics and autonomous regions. Until now, this aspect has not been discussed neither in Russia nor abroad. The author provides a rich compendium of materials from the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, some of which are in print for the first time.

The article examines the image of the author and his representation in the Italian baroque satire Diogenes’ Dog [Il cane di Diogene] by F. F. Frugoni. In the introduction, the critic explains the plotline, the effect and purpose of the satire, describing the dog’s literary image. The writer’s desire for fair representation of himself and his book is believed to indicate the tendency for self-reflection, so typical of the Baroque era. Frugoni composes a veritable encyclopaedia of human vice and other topics. Drawing generously on the cynic tradition, the author assumes the persona of the dog named Saetta and proceeds to fight evil in his canine disguise. Saetta embodies all the main characteristics of a true cynic: in his criticism of avarice, he resembles the priest of the Horapollo’s Hieroglyphics and conforms to Plato’s idea of the dog being a philosophical animal. The author’s decision to speak from a dog’s viewpoint has philosophical and cultural significance. It indicates his implicit self-irony and determination, in full compliance with the Baroque tradition, to follow the mediation logic, enriching the narration with aspects of a conventionality, a game. The 17th century cultural principle of ‘all the world’s a stage’ requires that the author be disguised, assume a different persona, play a role.

The article analyses the disintegration of hybrid genres, a major trend that has been taking shape in French literature in recent decades. Having exhausted the resources for hybridization of genres and survived the ‘death of the author’ period, French literature is searching for new ways to rejuvenate and refresh its genre forms. One option is convergence with other national literary tradition, in order to reconsider its own genre hierarchy and establish a new status of the writing individual between the autobiography and the novel. Particularly interesting in this regard is the attempt to overcome a genre crisis by the French writer Philippe Forest (born in 1962), who draws on the traditions of French avant-garde novels and the Japanese ‘I-novel’ (shôsetsu). The new genre distinguishes itself through special narration forms, the particular meaning of an event, and a certain balance between the imaginary and factual in Forest’s prose.

R. Gary was a founder of the total novel: a new genre epitomizing the strong desire to learn more about the world and humanity in the 20th century. It was Gary’s fondness for the works of Cervantes, Balzac, and Tolstoy that explains his drive to explore the world in its entirety. Rejecting life-like depictions, the writer turns instead to fantasy and imagination, existential reflection and the principle of the universality of existence. Gary’s novels were born of a complicated transformation of his personal life experiences and real events into mythical-poetic images of life and death, hope and despair, love and hatred. Gary’s artistic creed was expressed in his only essay In Defense of Sganarelle [Pour Sganarelle]. Sganarelle is emblematic for Gary’s poetics; he reconstructs a Scarronian burlesque in its playfulness and the art ‘to lie whilst speaking the truth’ in his novel The Dance of Genghis Cohn [Le Danse de Gengis Cohn]. He paints a farcical and grotesque picture of the Nazi crimes and Germany’s post-war history. In this bizarre story, Gary unleashes the protagonist of the Dybbuk into the real world, planting him in the mind of the former SS-officer Schatz, who serves as a police inspector now that the war is over. Schatz investigates the mass murders that occur in a small German town. By spoofing the detective plotline, Gary goes on to destroy its workings. As a result, a new semantic model is created: a parable-like narrative about the Holocaust and the world history of humanity.

The article suggests that I. Goncharov’s A Common Story [Obyknovennaya istoriya] is founded on the principles typical of E. Scribe’s works. The hypothesis opens up a new way for interpretation of Goncharov’s novel. The comparative analysis is only logical due to the allusions found in A Common Story: both the title and the main character’s name remind the reader of the Russian adaptation of Scribe’s comedy A Common Case [Simple Histoire].Goncharov’s novel ends in an unexpected (at least, at first sight) development: in the Epilogue, the characters (the uncle and nephew Aduev) experience a complete personality change, with the sensitive youth becoming a cynic, and the calculating businessman of an uncle suddenly giving up his career for his ailing wife. On close examination, it is clear that the final transformation had been carefully prepared by the author – much like in Scribe’s comedies. An observant reader may notice that Goncharov’s characters are not who they seem: neither to people around them, nor to themselves. Their words contradicting their actions and intentions, the two heroes are finally unmasked in the Epilogue. The paper proceeds to state that Goncharov employs the comedic device of quiproquo to solve the philosophical problem of ‘know thyself’, and that his hiding of the clues to the novel’s true meaning is an example of narrative irony.

Novels by the Nobel Prize winner in literature 2017 K. Ishiguro are analyzed chronologically, from the first novel A Pale View of Hills (1982) to the latest one The Buried Giant (2015). As the article shows, the author, who represents two cultural traditions, the Japanese and the British ones, reflects this quality in his works. The writer himself states that his works were mainly formed by the European literary tradition and, consequently, his novel The Remains of the Day has become a concentrated study of Englishness, one of the most vivid in contemporary British literature. Experimenting with traditional literary forms, Ishiguro uses the stream-of-conscience technique, elements of science fiction, fantasy, detective genres, but each of his novels is unique and is characterized by deep overtones. Some constant elements of the writer’s works are discussed: unreliable narrators, the opposition of memory and history, the special role of children and of old people in his novels, the significant role of periods before and after historic events that are omitted in his novels, and recognizable language and style – compact, reserved and precise.

The article reveals little-known facts from the lives of M. Auezov and L. Sobolev, two important writers of Kazakhstan and Russia, respectively, and cites their reflections on life, literature, and time. A large share of the archived material from the manuscripts department of the Almaty-based Research and Cultural Centre ‘Auezov House’ is examined and published for the first time.

L. Sobolev’s letters speak of an artist’s fate: we become witnesses of his very personal anxieties as well as events on a national scale. The letters also provide a valuable insight into the Russo-Kazakh literary connections from the early 1930s. M. Auezov epistles focus on the problems of interconnectedness and interaction of national literatures, particularly in terms of the artistic appropriation of Russian literary experiences by Kazakh writers. Another point of interest is the two writers’ exchanges about the artistic translation of M. Auezov’s major opus, the epic novel The Path of Abay [Put’ Abaya], into Russian.

In their joint interview, Elena V. Polyanskaya, the curator of Ivan Turgenev’s museum in Moscow, and its senior research fellow Elena M. Gribkova tell the story of the museum’s founding in 2007. Prefacing the interview is a brief in memoriam devoted to the recently passed E. Gribkova, who had worked at the Ostozhenka-based memorial house since its inception. Much emphasis is given to Turgenev’s integration into European culture through his friendship with Louis and Pauline Viardot, and the perception of his works by Flaubert, Maupassant, and Mеrimеe. The interview touches on the social and political stance of Turgenev and mentions a number of facts of his personal and creative life that are related to Moscow. The interviewees also reveal the selection process behind the museum’s exhibits and dwell on their main professional objective, i. e. to try and recreate, at least partially, the genuine period setting and decoration of the house. The new exhibition immerses the visitors into the world of Turgenev, an 1840-s man, and his mother: the world of the Russian landed gentry, of fathers and sons.

Numerous works have been written about the young Russian еmigrе writer Boris Vildе (1908–1942), a late hero of the French Resistance, who was executed by Nazi occupants. Descriptions of his personality are often contradictory, and each account is very precious. The article introduces and examines new, hitherto unpublished material about Vildе: it includes the letters of his wife’s mother Myrra Lot-Borodina, a famous French scholar of religions and philologist of Russian origins, to her sister, the Leningrad-based historian Inna Lyubimenko, from the Petersburg archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The letters provide a number of unique and valuable facts and observations about Vildе and his personality. Another discovery for the studies of Vildе, the correspondence between the famous French author Andrе Gide and his friend, the translator Dorothy Bussy, is quoted to enrich our knowledge about Vildе. It follows that A. Gide took Vildе under his wing and actively supported his relocation from Germany to France. As a result, far from resembling his stereotypical and slick image, Vildе is revealed as an extraordinary and heroic person.

Language and text studies in 14th–16th-century Europe.

The poetics of cinema. Theoretical studies of the 1920s.

The historical and supertemporal in Vyacheslav Ivanov’s work: A collection to mark the 150th birth anniversary of V. Ivanov.

L. Panova. An imaginary orphanhood: Velimir Khlebnikov and Daniil Kharms in the context of Russian and European Modernism.

A. G. Rumyantsev. Vampilov.

T. A. Snigiryova, A. V. Podchinenov, A. V. Snigiryov. Boris Akunin and his ludic world.

T. V. Balashova. Monologic narration: From Marcel Proust to the Nouveau Roman.

Perceptions of childhood in Anglo-American literature of the 17th–20th centuries.

C. S. Lewis, G. Calabria. United by spirit and love. The Latin Letters.

P. Glass. Words without music: A memoir.

New books.