Letters to the Teacher: On the Literary Relationship of Innokenty Annensky and Alexander Kondratiev

Abstract

Alexander Kondratiev’s seven letters to his teacher Innokenty Annensky kept in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Arts have never been published before though their fragments have been cited by the scholars. The letters help to reconstruct the relationships between the two writers. The first letter was written in 1905 when Annensky sent to his disciple a book of verse “Tikhie pesni” (“Quiet songs”, 1904). In the main block of correspondence (1908–1909) the two writers discuss their literary plans, contemporary works of art and literature. They were both interested in ancient mythology, literary and theatric interpretations of ancient myths and archetypal plots. Kondratiev considered himself Annensky’s disciple, although he was not his follower in literature; furthermore, Kondratiev’s literary manner was alien to Annensky. From Annensky’s point of view Kondratiev failed to find an appropriate literary form for the mythological plots.

Keywords

• innokenty annensky
• alexander kondratiev
• ancient mythology
• russian symbolism
• neo-mythologism
• correspondence