Литература двух Америк (Dec 2024)
Anglo-American and Soviet Neo-avant-garde: Literary Connections and Mutual Reception
Abstract
The first part of the article provides a brief overview of Soviet criticism in relation to the Anglo-American literary neo-avant-garde from the 1960s until the end of the USSR, first of all, articles collected in a book “Neo-Avant-garde movements in foreign literature 1950-60” published by IWL RAS. Also, the reasons why the neo-avantgarde poetry was not translated and not reviewed in the Soviet period are analyzed. Separately, the article describes the existing literary connections between the neoavant- garde poets of the USA and the USSR, as well as the reverse reception of Soviet poetry and life in the USSR, recorded by American poets during trips to the Soviet Union, in particular, the travelogue book “Leningrad”. Attention is paid to the modern reinterpretation of Soviet-American literary contacts, a review of published and upcoming thematic literature. The second part of the article is devoted to the reception of Soviet literary neo-avant-garde movements by their English-speaking counterparts. The review of publications of Soviet neo-avant-garde poetry in English-speaking countries is carried out: bilingual anthologies by G. Reavy, O. Carlisle, S. Massie and P. France, the almanach “Apollo-77” and “The Blue Lagoon Anthology of Modern Russian Poetry”, collections of poems by V. Ufliand and G. Aygi. The activities of anthology compilers, both individuals and publishers, such as “Ardis press”, are also highlighted separately. The critical reviews, opinions of the compilers and translators on key areas and personalities, contacts and cases of creative interaction between the authors, for example, between G. Aygi and E. Morgan, are mentioned. On the base of these facts a summary of the processes of reception is made and a conclusion on the role of neo-avant-garde poetry in the history of the USSR is carried out.
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