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An Anthology of Russian Literature from Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction: Introduction to a Culture PDF

636 Pages·2004·3.41 MB·English
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cover next page > ` title: An Anthology of Russian Literature From Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction : Introduction to a Culture author: Rzhevsky, Nicholas publisher: ME Sharpe, Inc. isbn10 | asin: 1563244217 print isbn13: 9781563244216 ebook isbn13: 9780585326658 language: English subject Russian literature--Translations into English. publication date: 1996 lcc: PG3213.A56 1996eb ddc: 891.708 subject: Russian literature--Translations into English. cover next page > < previous page cover-0 next page > Page aa Praise for An Anthology of Russian Literature from Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction "An astonishing anthology: an attempt, through a sampling of a saint's life, epic, narrative poem, parodic spoof, drama, lyric, and prose, to communicate some of the literary bedrock of Russian national consciousness. The translations are everywhere persuasive and the selection uncannily good. When the Soviet period passes wholly into history and Russian culture reassembles on the far side of the millennium, Rzhevsky's volume will be a major resource for English-language readers interested in a vivid, diversified introduction to one of the world's most provocative cultures." Caryl Emerson, Princeton University "This is an excellent anthology that can serve as the basis for a variety of college courses on Russian literature and culture, and as a splendid introduction to these subjects for a general reader. A highly original and appealing feature of the collection is that the works in it were selected because of their varied resonances in Russian culture, including adaptations and translations into other artistic forms such as opera, theater, and film. Professor Rzhevsky traces these and other links in a series of concise and illuminating essays and provides references that would allow the motivated reader or instructor to pursue connections throughout Russian culture from the earliest period to the present day. The illustrations echo the anthology's focus on an 'inter-representational' history of Russian culture." Vladimir Alexandrov, Yale University < previous page cover-0 next page > < previous page cover-1 next page > Page ab "Rzhevsky's concept of selecting literary texts on the basis of their relevance to other art forms and their quality of being representative of Russian culture (the 'spirit of Russia') seems most appropriate. The selection strikes a good balance between 'Russianness' and accessibility to an American reader." Victor Terras, Brown University "Rzhevsky's anthology makes all the Russian literary texts one needs to teach a culture course available in a single, affordable volume. His choice of literary texts that resonate to other arts (music, film, paintingprimarily Russian but also European) is excellent. The introductory essays are interdisciplinary and wide-ranging in scope, and have something to say to undergraduates at all levels. The multidisciplinary bibliographies after each work are also useful." Maria Carlson, The University of Kansas < previous page cover-1 next page > < previous page page_iii next page > Page iii An Anthology of Russian Literature from Earliest Writings to Modern Fiction Introduction to a Culture Edited by Nicholas Rzhevsky < previous page page_iii next page > < previous page page_iv next page > Page iv Copyright © 1996 by M. E. Sharpe, Inc. Permission to reprint the following is gratefully acknowledged: "The Narrative, Passion, and Encomium of Boris and Gleb," from Medieval Slavic Lives of Saints and Princes, trans. and ed. Marvin Kantor, Michigan Slavic Translations Series No. 5, Michigan Slavic Publications, 1983, pp. 16397 (abridged). Archpriest Avvakum: The Life Written by Himself, ed. and trans. Kenneth N. Brostrom, Michigan Slavic Translations Series No. 4, Michigan Slavic Publications, 1979 (abridged). Alexander Pushkin, "The Bronze Horseman," from Narrative Poems by Alexander Pushkin and by Mikhail Lermontov, trans. Charles Johnston, London, 1984. © The Literary Executor of Charles Johnston. Mikhail Lermontov, "Taman." The translation from Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time by Vladimir and Dmitri Nabokov by permission of the Estate of Vladimir Nabokov. All rights reserved. Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard, trans. and ed. E.J. Czerwinski, in Chekhov Reconstructed, a special issue of Slavic and East European Arts, vol. 4, no. 2 (1986), pp. 14355 (Act 1). All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher, M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, New York 10504. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data An Anthology of Russian literature from earliest writings to modern fiction: introduction to a culture / edited by Nicholas Rzhevsky. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-56324-421-7 (alk. paper).ISBN 1-56324-422-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Russian literatureTranslations into English. I. Rzhevsky, Nicholas, 1943 PG3213.A56 1996 891.708dc20 95-42684 CIP Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z 39.48-1984. BM(c) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 BM(p) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 < previous page page_iv next page > < previous page page_v next page > Page v The editor dedicates this book to the women who brought Russian culture into his life: Irina Aleksandrovna Rzhevskaya Vera Georgievna Karsanova Sofia Savvichna Rzhevskaya Alla Djakova, Anastasia Rzhevskaya, Svetlana Rzhevskaya, Lidia Zhuravskaya, Nadezhda Martinjuk, Natalie Slocum, Irina Fedorova, Tatiana Rzhevskaya, Natalia Rzhevskaya, Alexandra Fedorova, and Kyra Rzhevskaya < previous page page_v next page > < previous page page_vii next page > Page vii CONTENTS Introduction Nicholas Rzhevsky ix I Cultural Beginnings 3 1. The Tale of Igor Anonymous 11 2. "Boris and Gleb" Anonymous 21 3. "The Life of Alexis, Holy Man of God" Anonymous 33 II The Emerging Self 41 4. The Life of Avvakum Avvakum 46 III The Search for Identity 79 5. "Felicity" Gavrila Derzhavin 91 6. "The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa" Anonymous 99 7. "Poor Liza" Nikolai Karamzin 104 8. "The Bronze Horseman: A Petersburg Tale" Alexander Pushkin 118 9. "Borodino" Mikhail Lermontov 132 10. "Taman." From A Hero of Our Time Mikhail Lermontov 136 IV Subversions of Secularization 147 11. Boris Godunov Alexander Pushkin 161 12. "The Queen of Spades" Alexander Pushkin 236 13. "The Overcoat" Nikolai Gogol 259 14. "Bezhin Meadow" Ivan Turgenev 285 15. "The Meek Woman: A Fantastic Story" Fedor Dostoevsky 303 16. "Lefty (A Skaz about Cross-Eyed Lefty from Tula and a Steel Flea)" Nikolai Leskov 338 17. "Holstomer: The Story of a Horse" Leo Tolstoy 368 < previous page page_vii next page > < previous page page_viii next page > Page viii V New Aesthetic Languages 401 18. "The Lady with the Lapdog" Anton Chekhov 407 19. The Cherry Orchard. Act I Anton Chekhov 422 20. "A Puppet Show" Alexander Blok 438 21. "The Gray-Eyed King" Anna Akhmatova 441 22. "Listen!" Vladimir Mayakovsky 443 23. "I Ask the Mirror for a Glimpse . . ." Marina Tsvetaeva 445 24. "Verses about Moscow" Marina Tsvetaeva 447 25. "Barely a Tenth" Valery Briusov 449 26. "The Escape." From Petersburg Andrei Bely 451 VI Thresholds: Soviet Culture and Beyond 455 27. "The King" Isaak Babel 466 28. "Farewell, My Friend, Farewell . . ." Sergei Esenin 473 29. "The Union of the Sword and the Plow." From The Twelve Chairs Ilf and Petrov 474 30. Virgin Soil Upturned. Chapter 7, Book 1 Mikhail Sholokhov 485 31. Crime and Punishment: A Comedy in One Act Mikhail Zoshchenko 490 32. "We Live without Feeling . . ." Osip Mandelstam 504 33. "The Last Toast" Anna Akhmatova" 506 34. "Makarov and Peterson." No. 3 Daniil Kharms 507

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