Contemporary Russian Literature: Responses

[Katya Hirvasaho]

Dear Seelang community:

Consiering the time, it might be useful for us, teachers of Russian
language and literature, to think about what is meant by "Russian,"
particularly by "Russian literature."  Does that mean literature written
only by ethnic Russians or could it include literature written by various
"minorities" in the Russian language?  If so, would we not need to make an
attempt to try to find these writers (just because they are un- or
under-represented in the mainstream publications doesn't necessarily
certify their unworthiness) and include them in our syllabi?  And even if
their writing doesn't conform to the "standard" Russian writing, couldn't
there be something of interest to our students, particularly if we want to
help them become tolerant and open-minded citizens of the whole world
culture?

Katya Hirvasaho

>Because a number of you have asked that I share the responses I*ve gotten
>regarding contemporary Russian literature, I am posting authors and
>reference books that Konstantin Kustanovich, Benjamin Rifkin, and Gerald
>Sabo have very generously sent me.
>
>On behalf of myself and listserve members who will be using this
>information, I want to thank Konstantin, Ben and Gerald for providing us
>with an excellent, comprehensive reading list.
>
>Mary Petrusewicz,
>American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS
>==========================
>
>Konstantin Kustanovich, Vanderbilt University:
>1980s and '90s
>Prose:
>Sergei Dovlatov, Evgenii Popov, Tatiana Tolstaia, Liudmila Petrushevskaia,
>Viacheslav P'etsukh, Vladimir Makanin, Mark Kharitono, Viktor Erofee,
>Vladimir Sorokin,Viktor Pelevin
>
>Poetry:
>Iosif Brodskii, Aleksandr Kushner, Timur Kibirov, Lev Losev, Sergei
>Gandlevskii, Dmitrii Aleksandrovich Prigov
>
>
>===================================
>Ben Rifkin, U. Wisconsin, shared with me his reading list for a course on
>contemporary literature and film.  Ben asked that I note that he had help
>from Jane Chamberlain, U. of Texas, John Givens, Helena Goscilo, U. of
>Pittsburgh, D. Barton Johnson, UC-Santa Barbara, and Christine Tomei.  :
>
>Anthologies students will be refering to:
>
>Glasnost:  An Anthology of Russian Literature under Gorbachev, ed. Helena
>Goscilo and Byron Lindsey, Ardis, 1990, subsequently noted as "Glasnost."
>Immortal Love.  Ludmilla Petrushevskaya.  Tr. Sally Laird.  London:
>Virago, 1988, 1995.
>Lives in Transit:  A Collection of Recent Russian Women's Writing.  Ed.
>Helena Goscilo.  Dana Point, CA:  Ardis, 1995.
>Out of the Blue:  Russia's Hidden Gay Literature.  [Only texts from Part
>IV, "Gay Life Reborn in the New Russia".]  Ed. Kevin Moss.  San Francisco:
>Gay Sunshine Press, 1997.
>The Penguin Book of New  Russian Writing, ed. Victor Erofeyev, 1995,
>subsequently noted as "Penguin."
>The Talisman and Other Stories.  Viktoria Tokareva.  Tr. Rosamund
>Bartlett. London:  Picadore, 1993.
>The Times of Turmoil.  Tr. Arkady Yanishevsky.  Compiled by Inna Broude.
>Tenafly, NJ:  Hermitage Publishers, 1993.
>
>Authors and texts Ben Rifkin plans to assign:
>
>Excerpts from Ries Russian Talk  Chapters 1-2.
>Sorokin's "Next Item on the Agenda" (from The Penguin Book of New  Russian
>Writing, ed. Victor Erofeyev, 1995, subsequently noted as "Penguin").
>Kuraev's "Captain Dikshtein," Golovin's "Anna Petrovna" (Glasnost)
>Dovlatov's "The 5th Compromise" (Penguin),
>Prigov's "Description of Objects" (Penguin)
>Katerli's "Slowly the Old Lady" from Lives in Transit Anthology
>Tolstaya's "The Poet and the Muse" (Penguin) and "Night" (Glasnost),
>Victor Erofeyev's "The Parakeet" (Glasnost).
>Interview of Tolstaya by Peter Barta in Russian Language Journal
>XLIV.147-149 (1990).
>Petrushevskaya's "Our Crowd" (Glasnost)
>Tokareva's "Coincidence" or "Relatives for Life" from Talisman Anthology
>of stories by Tokareva.
>Shmelyov's "The Visit" (Glasnost) and Rybikov's "Lays (Songs) of the Gay
>Slavs" from Out of the Blue Anthology.
>Popov's "Dreams from the Top Berth," Erofeyev's "Anna's Body" (Glasnost).
>
>Ben asked that I note the following:
>GLAS, the journal of new Russian writing, has a web site at:
>http://www.bham.ac.uk/russian/glascover.html
>Melissa Smith of Youngstown U. is coming out with some translations of
>some Lidia Petrushevskaia plays (Garland Press).
>
>===================================
>
>Gerald J. Sabo, S.J., John Carroll University, suggested these anthologies
>and reference books:
>
>Glasnost, The Wild Beach, Lives in Transit, Half a Revolution, Glas, The
>Reference Guide to Russian Literature (has an introductory essay on
>post-Socialist Realism/Soviet literature). N. N. Schneidman's Russian
>Literature: 1988-1994, Robert Porter's Russia's Literature of the Absurd
>(with a good commentary on Russia*s alternative prose), (1994), The
>Dictionary of Russian Women Writers (1994), The Reference Guide to Russian
>Literature, The Penguin Book of New Russian Writing, Catriona Kelly's An
>Anthology of Russian Women's Writing, and a History of Russian Women's
>Writing.
>
>Authors:
>Tokareva, Ulitskaya, Pelevin, Victor Erofeyev, Tolstaya, Palei, Sadur,
>Petrushevskaia, Makanin, Kharitonov (Mark and Evgenij who died in 1981),
>Gavrilov, Evgeny Popov, P. Kozhevnikov, Dovlatov (who died in 1991).
>=================================
>
>n.b.:  Victor Erofeyev*s introduction (*Russia*s Fleurs du Mal*) to the
>new alternative literature in The Penguin Book of New Russian Writing, is
>excellent, but the book is out of print.  N.N. Schneidman*s Russian
>Literature: 1988-1994 is also out of print.


---
Katya Hirvasaho * Rice University * Houston, Texas