Tag: Russian literature

Connections with the past : provenance and the August Slavonic items of the month

On By europeancollectionsIn New Acquisitions, Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment
erere
Dedication to Michel Fokine.

Three recent acquisitions – The Russian theatre (New York, 1922), Bonfire : stories out of Soviet Russia (London, 1932), and A history of Russian literature (1927)  – bear marks of provenance that make their addition to the Library’s collections particularly valuable.  The first, for example, contains a lengthy dedication to the Ballets Russes choreographer Michel Fokine from theatre producer Morris Gest.

Oliver M. Sayler’s The Russian theatre is a much-expanded version of an earlier work, The Russian theatre under the Revolution, and covers theatrical work in late Imperial and early Soviet Russia as well as Russian theatre in other countries.  On the flyleaf in our copy (at Syn.5.92.110) is the following text:

To Michel Fokine, To whom America and in fact the whole world is indebted for his great artistry and for his genius which spoke the first word for Russia to America through his great creations of the Ballet Russe. For myself I shall always cherish the moments of our association and always be proud of knowing you! Affectionately, Morris Gest

Continue reading “Connections with the past : provenance and the August Slavonic items of the month” →

‘Krokodil’ and ‘Literaturnaia gazeta’ electronic backfiles

On By europeancollectionsIn E-resources, New Acquisitions, Russian, Slavonic2 Comments
Front cover of the 1/1946 issue of 'Krokodil', showing the eponymous crocodile.
Front cover of the 1/1946 issue of ‘Krokodil’, showing the eponymous crocodile.

Thanks to vocal support from researchers across the University following trial access earlier this year, the Library has now purchased permanent access to the electronic backfiles of Krokodil and Literaturnaia gazeta.  These purchases provide our readers with full accessibility to these very important titles for the first time. Continue reading “‘Krokodil’ and ‘Literaturnaia gazeta’ electronic backfiles” →

Trial access to ‘Krokodil’, ‘Russkaia literatura’, and the Dostoevsky Research Series

On By europeancollectionsIn E-resources, Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment

Three new East View e-resources have been made available on trial, including the backfiles of the satirical magazine Krokodil and the literary journal Russkaia literatura.  In addition, we are also trying out a Russian e-book set, with trial access to the Dostoevskii : materialy i issledovaniia.  Feedback is keenly sought by Friday 1 May, to slavonic@lib.cam.ac.uk.

wewew
Krokodil front covers – screenshot from the East View database.

Continue reading “Trial access to ‘Krokodil’, ‘Russkaia literatura’, and the Dostoevsky Research Series” →

The construction of authority in early Russian crime fiction

On By europeancollectionsIn Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment

In the fourth and final CamCREES seminar of the Michaelmas term, Professor Claire Whitehead of St Andrews University discussed Russian crime fiction from the 19th and early 20th century.  These bibliographical notes for the talk go on to look at holdings of Russian crime fiction, both early and modern, in the University Library.

20141125_Timofeev
Front cover of Zapiski sledovatelia by N.P. Timofeev (S236.c.87.1)

Professor Whitehead gave a fascinating talk on the work she is doing for her current project on the poetics of early Russian crime fiction.  She explored several particularly notable features in the Russian genre.  The mystery, for example, is not necessarily in the identification of the criminal (the standard whodunit) – more often than not, the chase is to establish the reason for the crime.  Similarly, early Russian crime writers showed a preference for writing the narrative from the point of view of the investigator: a device often shunned by writers elsewhere because it can make the maintenance of suspense challenging.  In discussing the issue of authority, Professor Whitehead looked at the narrator-investigators in terms of the authority given to them through their identity in society as representatives of the law and the authority they build through their trustworthiness and effectiveness as narrators. Continue reading “The construction of authority in early Russian crime fiction” →

The persistence of the eighteenth century in the Russian cultural imagination

On By europeancollectionsIn Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment
wewewe
The first lines of Rossiiada by Mikhail Kheraskov (7756.c.1)

The second 2014/15 CamCREES seminar saw Professor Luba Golburt of UC Berkeley speak about the paradox of the obscurity and tenacity of the 18th century in the Russian cultural and historical imagination.  These notes go on to look at her question of the Russian 18th century’s true length, in terms of classification and subject headings.

Russian literature’s “Golden Age” was the 19th century, exemplified by Pushkin, the poet described to this day in Russia as nashe vse (our everything).  Professor Golburt’s absorbing talk looked at the way in which the epoch which preceded it, the 18th century, both fell into undeserved obscurity and yet also cast an enduring shadow long after it ended.  The talk was based on Professor Golburt’s recently published book, The first epoch : the eighteenth century and the Russian cultural imagination (the University Library’s copy is electronic and can be accessed by Library readers from this LibrarySearch record). Continue reading “The persistence of the eighteenth century in the Russian cultural imagination” →

The illustrated Lermontov : the October 2014 Slavonic item of the month

On By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment

The 200th anniversary of the great Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov’s birth falls this month, as marked by library and literary blogs the world over.  In this post, we look at books produced a hundred years ago to mark the first centenary of his birth, focusing in particular on a illustrated set of his complete works.

Illustration for Lermontov's Aul Bastundzhi by Martiros San'ian (S756.b.91.6)
Illustration for Lermontov’s Aul Bastundzhi by Martiros San’ian (S756.b.91.6)

The earliest book by Lermontov held by the University Library was published in 1842; this is the first half of a two-volume set of his poems (8757.d.7-8).  The poet had already died the year before, killed outright in a duel in the Caucasus at the age of 26.  Only one collection of his poetry was published in his lifetime, in 1840; his poems had otherwise been printed in larger, shared publications.  A great deal of Lermontov’s work came out only after his untimely death, although Geroi nashego vremeni (Hero of our time), the prose novel for which he is possibly best known to Anglophone readers, had already appeared in 1840.

One hundred years ago, the centenary of Lermontov’s death was celebrated in print by a number of special issues of and about his work.  Among them was the set which is our Slavonic item of the month.  Illiustrirovannoe polnoe sobranie sochinenii M.Iu. Lermontova (The illustrated complete works of M.Iu. Lermontov; S756.b.91.1-6).  Five of the six volumes which make up this lovely set contain works by Lermontov himself.  The last contains recollections of the poet by his acquaintances and a section of critical articles on his work.  All six are liberally illustrated with pictures by a large number of various artists, including the poet himself.  Minor illustrations are printed directly on to the page, with more significant ones printed on to individual plates.

Continue reading “The illustrated Lermontov : the October 2014 Slavonic item of the month” →

‘Sovetskaia kul’tura’ digital archive

On By europeancollectionsIn E-resources, New Acquisitions, Russian, Slavonic1 Comment

Thanks to strong support from academics and students following the February blog post advertising trial access to the Sovetskaia kul'tura digital archive, the University Library's Accessions Committee agreed to purchase permanent access to the archive, with financial support from money left to the Library by Dr Catherine Cooke.  The purchase was made later in the spring, but it is only in the last few weeks that the digital archive has been fully updated from the pre-purchase state it had been in.

SK stamp section_20140624
Screenshot of the philately section of the 25 June 1964 issue of Sovetskaia kul’tura.

The archive contains as full a set as East View have so far been able to amass of the various titles under which the current weekly newspaper Kul'tura has been published.  The earliest title was Rabochii i iskusstvo (Worker and art), which started in 1929, followed by Sovetskoe iskusstvo (Soviet art); this title ran from 1931-1953, with the exception of some of 1942-1944 when Literatura i iskusstvo (Literature and art) was used instead), and Sovetskaia kul'tura (Soviet culture; this ran to 1991, after which the current name, Kul'tura (Culture), was adopted).  Any gaps in the collection are detailed within each title's main page, but East View assure us that the search for all remaining copies and also for better copies of issues which have scanned poorly will continue.  As with other East View digital archives, the Sovetskaia kul'tura archive contains scanned pages which are text-searchable in Cyrillic and in transliteration.

Continue reading “‘Sovetskaia kul’tura’ digital archive” →

“Tolstoy, Chekhov, and the music of Russian prose”

On By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment

The latest CamCREES bibliographical notes look at Dr Rosamund Bartlett’s talk on 3 December 2013 on Chekhov, Tolstoi, music, and English modernism.  They end with explorations of a major new website about Tolstoi and the incredible literary resources offered by the online Fundamental’naia elektronnaia biblioteka (Fundamental electronic dictionary).

The end of Chekhov's short story Student, showing the enormous 94-word concluding sentence, which Dr Bartlett mentioned in her talk (757:23.d.90.96)
The end of Chekhov’s short story Student, showing the enormous 94-word concluding sentence, which Dr Bartlett mentioned in her talk (757:23.d.90.96)

The final CamCREES seminar of the Michaelmas term and the last of the seminars arranged as part of Dr Katia Bowers’ CEELBAS-funded project ‘Promoting the Study of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature in the UK’ saw an excellent turnout for an extremely interesting talk.  Dr Rosamund Bartlett of the University of Oxford spoke about music and the works of Chekhov and Tolstoi, looking at patterns of musical composition in the writings of these authors and drawing links with Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield, whose own work has recently started to be considered in musical terms.  As Dr Bartlett explained, these new angles of criticism cast Chekhov and Tolstoi, traditionally considered realists, in a more modernist light.

Continue reading ““Tolstoy, Chekhov, and the music of Russian prose”” →

“Tolstoy’s ‘About mushrooms'”

On By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment

The latest set of CamCREES bibliographical notes looks at Professor Robin Feuer Miller’s talk on 12 November 2013 on the tale of the mushroom hunt in Tolstoi’s Anna Karenina.  They end with a look at Tolstoi-related publications catalogued in the University Library in 2013, with search tips and an insight into some of the Library’s working practices.

Text from the mushroom hunt scene in Tolstoi's Anna Karenina (757:23.d.85.186-188)
Text from the mushroom hunt scene in Tolstoi’s Anna Karenina (757:23.d.85.186-188)

The third CamCREES seminar of Michaelmas 2013, once again part of Dr Katia Bowers’ CEELBAS-funded project ‘Promoting the Study of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature in the UK’, was given by Professor Robin Feuer Miller of Brandeis University and the University of Oxford.  Her talk focused on a small section of Tolstoi’s Anna Karenina which involves two relatively minor characters: Varen’ka, a young woman who Kitty (Kiti in Russian) has met at a German spa, and Sergei Ivanovich Koznyshev, the half-brother of Kitty’s husband Levin.  The section of the novel focused on in the seminar describes a mushroom hunt undertaken by these two characters in Levin’s estate, during which a proposal of marriage is prepared for but never realised.

Continue reading ““Tolstoy’s ‘About mushrooms’”” →

Of men and their demons : masculinity in Dostoevskii’s ‘Besy’

On By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, Russian, SlavonicLeave a comment
Title page of the 1890 edition of Dostoevskii's Besy (S756.d.89.28).
Title page of the 1890 edition of Dostoevskii’s Besy (S756.d.89.28).

The CamCREES bibliographical notes aim to link Cambridge library resources with the fortnightly seminars hosted by CamCREES (the Cambridge Committee for Russian and East European Studies) in the Michaelmas and Lent terms of each academic year.  Each set of notes starts by looking at the specifics of a seminar and then goes on to explore related research tips and library issues; this latest set, for example, ends with a look at the problems of varying Russian transliteration in the world of electronic resources.  The CamCREES bibliographical notes were introduced in February 2011 on the University Library’s Slavonic webpages, where all earlier notes can be found.

The second CamCREES seminar of Michaelmas 2013, again part of Dr Katia Bowers’ CEELBAS-funded project ‘Promoting the Study of Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature in the UK’, was given by Dr Connor Doak of the University of Bristol.  His talk, ‘Of men and their demons : masculinity in Dostoevskii’s Besy’ looked at the characters in Dostoevskii’s novel (commonly translated into English as ‘The devils’ or ‘The demons’ or ‘The possessed’) about young radicals and their parents. Through close reading of selected passages, Dr Doak demonstrated how Besy ‘critiques both the sentimental men of the 1840s generation – presented as effete performers who have voluntarily renounced their manliness – and the radical men of the 1860s – presented as hypermasculine in their taste for violence’ (quotation from the talk’s abstract).

Continue reading “Of men and their demons : masculinity in Dostoevskii’s ‘Besy’” →