The New Cambridge History of Russian Literature

Authoritative yet innovative, this is the essential new guide to Russian literature from medieval manuscripts to social media.

Simon Franklin (Edited by), Rebecca Reich (Edited by), Emma Widdis (Edited by)

9781108493482, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 December 2024

922 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 4.7 cm, 1.57 kg

'… makes a significant contribution to the study of Russian literature and theory by rethinking the field's very foundations rather than simply updating earlier narratives.' Miquel Cabal-Guarro, SEER

This is the essential new guide to Russian literature, combining authority and innovation in coverage ranging from medieval manuscripts to the internet and social media. With contributions from thirty-four world-leading scholars, it offers a fresh approach to literary history, not as one integral narrative but as multiple parallel histories. Each of its four strands tells a story of Russian literature according to a defined criterion: Movements, Mechanisms, Forms and Heroes. At the same time, six clusters of shorter themed essays suggest additional perspectives and criteria for further study and research. In dialogue, these histories invite a multiplicity of readings, both within and across the narrative strands. In an age of shifting perspectives on Russia, and on national literatures more widely, this open but easily navigable volume enables readers to engage with both traditional literary concerns and radical re-conceptualisations of Russian history and culture.

Introduction Simon Franklin, Rebecca Reich and Emma Widdis
History 1: Movements
1.1 The Age of Devotion Simon Franklin
1.2 The Baroque Age Simon Franklin
1.3 The Age of Classicism Marcus C. Levitt
1.4 Sentimentalism and Romanticism Ilya Vinitsky
1.5 The Natural School and Realism Alexey Vdovin
1.6 Symbolism and the Fin de Siècle Yuri Corrigan
1.7 Modernism and the Avant-Garde Connor Doak
1.8 Socialist Realism Evgeny Dobrenko
1.9 Postmodernism Ilya Kukulin
1.10 Contemporary Movements Marijeta Bozovic
Boxes 1: Close Readings
1.1 A Nineteenth-Century Verse Form: The Onegin Stanza Michael Wachtel
1.2 A Nineteenth-Century Prose Form: A Hero of Our Time William Mills Todd III
1.3 A Twentieth-Century Verse Form: Maiakovskii's lesenka Isobel Palmer
1.4 A Micro-Story: 'Blue Notebook No. 10' Ilya Kukulin
1.5 An Internet Form: The Meme Ellen Rutten
Boxes 2: Genres
2.1 Povest' Lyudmila Parts
2.2 Satire Evgeny Dobrenko
2.3 Travelogue Lyudmila Parts
2.4 Children's Literature Connor Doak
2.5 Civic Poetry Ilya Kukulin
History 2: Mechanisms
2.1 The Monastery Simon Franklin
2.2 The Court Alexei Evstratov
2.3 The Salon and the Circle Ilya Vinitsky
2.4 The Thick Journal William Mills Todd III
2.5 The Publisher William Mills Todd III
2.6 Queerness Evgenii Bershtein
2.7 The Censor Polly Jones
2.8 The Voice Stephen Lovell
2.9 The Self-Publisher Josephine von Zitzewitz
2.10 The Market Bradley A. Gorski
2.11 The Internet Marijeta Bozovic
2.12 Empire Vitaly Chernetsky
Boxes 3: Places
3.1 The Camp Polly Jones
3.2 The Front Alexei Evstratov
3.3 St Petersburg Josephine von Zitzewitz
3.4 The Village Alexey Vdovin
3.5 The Apartment Stephen Lovell
Boxes 4: Narrative Voices
4.1 The Medieval First-Person Singular Simon Franklin
4.2 The Unreliable Narrator Julie Curtis
4.3 Skaz Jessica Merrill
4.4 The Omniscient Narrator William Mills Todd III
4.5 The Collective Voice Bradley A. Gorski
History 3: Forms
3.1 Forms before Genres Simon Franklin
3.2 Folk Genres Jessica Merrill
3.3 Verse I Michael Wachtel
3.4 Drama I Kirill Zubkov
3.5 The Novel I Anna A. Berman
3.6 The Short Story Lyudmila Parts
3.7 Drama II Julie Curtis
3.8 Verse II Isobel Palmer
3.9 The Novel II Evgeny Dobrenko
3.10 Self-Writing Emily Van Buskirk
3.11 (Plat)forms after Genres Ellen Rutten
Boxes 5: Critical Frames
5.1 Vissarion Belinskii Kirill Zubkov
5.2 Viktor Shklovskii Emily Van Buskirk
5.3 Lev Trotskii Connor Doak
5.4 Mikhail Bakhtin Marijeta Bozovic
5.5 Iurii Lotman Alexei Evstratov
Boxes 6: Literature beyond Literature
6.1 The Igor Myth Simon Franklin
6.2 Literature in Art Isobel Palmer
6.3 Literature in Music Anna A. Berman
6.4 Literature in Film Bradley A. Gorski
6.5 The Pushkin Myth William Mills Todd III
History 4: Heroes
4.1 The Saint Sergey Ivanov
4.2 The Ruler Tatiana Smoliarova
4.3 The Lowly Civil Servant Cathy Popkin
4.4 The Peasant Alexey Vdovin
4.5 The Intelligent Konstantine Klioutchkine
4.6 The Russian Woman Anna A. Berman
4.7 The New Person Emma Widdis
4.8 The Non-Russian Michael Kunichika
4.9 The Madman Rebecca Reich
4.10 The Émigré Lisa Ryoko Wakamiya.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]