Under the Sign of Contradiction (Paperback)

Anna Razumnaya

ISBN 10: 1787070514 / ISBN 13: 9781787070516

Published by Peter Lang Ltd, Witney, 2021

Paperback. The book revisits the final decade in the life of Osip Mandelstam (18911938), a central poet of Russian Modernism. Premised on the belief that no life can be understood without insight into its contradictions, the book attends to the two contentious cruxes of Mandelstams life and art: his testifying against his closest friends to the secret police and his composition, in exile, of an ode in praise of Stalin. Offering a close reading of the protocols of Mandelstams interrogations, a critical reflection on the nature of the Ode and an unflinching yet humane interpretation of the connecting events, the book pursues the dramatic arc of Mandelstams imaginative involvement with the politics of the Soviet state, revealing the perennial aspects of his case in dialogue with poets and critics in the English language, from Andrew Marvell to William Empson. In doing so, the book contemplates Mandelstam a poet of longing for world culture as a phenomenon of Western literature at large. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781787070516

Synopsis:

The book revisits the final decade in the life of Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938), a central poet of Russian Modernism. Premised on the belief that no life can be understood without insight into its contradictions, the book attends to the two contentious cruxes of Mandelstam's life and art: his testifying against his closest friends to the secret police and his composition, in exile, of an ode in praise of Stalin. Offering a close reading of the protocols of Mandelstam's interrogations, a critical reflection on the nature of the Ode and an unflinching yet humane interpretation of the connecting events, the book pursues the dramatic arc of Mandelstam's imaginative involvement with the politics of the Soviet state, revealing the perennial aspects of his case in dialogue with poets and critics in the English language, from Andrew Marvell to William Empson. In doing so, the book contemplates Mandelstam - a poet of longing for world culture - as a phenomenon of Western literature at large.

About the Author:

Anna Razumnaya is a literary historian, textual scholar and journalist. She earned her doctorate at the Editorial Institute of Boston University. Her critical essays, translations and other writings have appeared in literary journals Essays in Criticism, Literary Imagination, Berlin.BEREGA, Pusteblume and elsewhere. She lives in Boston with her family.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Under the Sign of Contradiction (Paperback)
Publisher: Peter Lang Ltd, Witney
Publication Date: 2021
Binding: Paperback
Condition: new