A
Gallery of
Russian
Authors
This page owes much of its existence to the Handbook of Russian Literature, Victor Terras, ed., Yale University Press, 1985.
"I am a sick man... I am an angry man. I am
an unattractive man. I think there is
something wrong with my liver."
- Notes From Underground
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
(1821 - 1881)
Dosteovsky is, without a doubt, my favorite Russian author. I was
even willing to spend an entire year of my short life reading, studying
and writing to produce a senior thesis on his masterpiece The Brothers
Karamazov. Like most Russian authors, Dostoevsky takes on the heavyweights:
God, evil, suicide, child abuse, and yes, crime and punishment. The great
writer's biographer, Geit Kjetsaa, states, "Those who go to the works of
Dostoevsky in search of solutions to life's problems will be quickly
disappointed. Dostoevsky writes rather for those who wish to know what things are worth
talking about."
Reading List!
Items in yellow link to texts available on the Web.
Books on Dostoevsky and his works:
- Bakhtin, M.M. Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics. For the serious student of literature.
- Holquist, Michael. Dostoevsky and the Novel.
- Kjetsaa, Geit. Fyodor Dostoevsky: A Writer's Life.
- Mochulsky, Konstantin. Dostoevsky: His Life and Works. A standard for years.
- Peace, Richard. Dostoevsky: An Examination of the Major Novels.
- Terras, Victor. A Karamazov Companion.
A beautifully done
Dostoevsky page provides links to biographies, chronologies and photos from all over creation.
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"Yes, that was death. I died - and I
awoke. Yes, death is an awakening!
- Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, War and Peace.
Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoi
(1828 - 1910)
Possibly the best known Russian aauthor, Tolstoi influenced much more than literature.
A teacher, educational theorist, farmer and philosopher, as well as a great author,
his theory of non-resistance to violence was expanded upon by Gandhi. Torn by a
spiritual crisis in 1877, Tolstoi "disowned" his magnificent novels War and Peace
and Anna Karenina to turn to essays on social ills and children's literature.
A wonderful stylist, he utilizes in his works devices which manipulate the reader to come to the
conclusion that only Tolstoi's attitudes toward religion, history, death, love and
society are right and good.
Reading List!
Items in yellow link to texts available on the Web.
Books on Tolstoi and his work:
- Berlin, Isiah. The Hedgehog and the Fox Concerns War and Peace.
- Eikhenbaum, Boris M. The Young Tolstoi
- Matlaw, R., ed. Tolstoy: A Collection of Critical Essays
- Maude, Alymer. The Life of Tolstoy Written by Tolstoy's English translator.
- Wasiolek, Edward. Tolstoy's Major Fiction
For more on Tolstoi's biography, literary criticism of his works and bookstore links,
check out the Tolstoy Library.
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"Pora, moi drug, pora! Pokaia serdtse prosit
Letiat za dniami dni, i kazhdyi chas unosit
Chastichku bytiia, a my s toboi vdvoem
Predpolagaem zhit'...I glaid' - kak raz - umrem."
"It's time, my friend, it's time! The heart
begs for peace; the days fly by, and every hour
carries off another piece of life; and you and I,
who had supposed to live, shall die."
Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin
(1799 - 1837)
As Russia's national poet, Pushkin receives far more veneration than any poet of the English language can ever dream to achieve.
He unfortunately has not achieved the status he deserves among Westerners, partially because of the difficulty in satisfactorily translating
his works. In addition to his brilliant poetry, Pushkin displays remarkable genius in his short stories, dramatic works, novels, critical essays,
folk tales, hisotical accounts, and travel writings. Many of his works have been set to music as ballets or operas. The quintessential romantic, his short, tumultuous life was cut short by a duel.
Reading List!
Items in yellow link to texts available on the Web.
Works by Pushkin
- Evgeny Onegin, novel in verse
- Ruslan and Lyudmila, mock-epic fairy tale
- Poltava, romatic historical epic
- The Bronze Horseman, narrative poem
- Boris Godunov, historical drama
- The Captain's Daughter, historical novel
- The Tales of Belkin, short stories
- The Queen of Spades, story
- Southern Poems, Byronic poems
- History of Pugachev, history of an important peasant revolt
- Many of his short lyrics can be found at
www.isc.rit.edu/~exb1874/mine/pushkin/pushkin_ind.html
Books on Pushkin and his work:
- Bayley, John. Pushkin: A Comparative Commentary.
- Debreczeby, Paul. The Other Pushkin: A Study of Alexander Pushkin's Prose Fiction.
- Jakobson, Roman. Pushkin and his Sculptural Myth.
- Richards, D.J. and C.R.S. Cockrell. Russian Views of Pushkin.
The Pushkin Page at the University of Wisconsin,
Madison, is a wonderful source for biographies and other links.
See where Pushkin lived, walked, and worked at the The Pushkin Museum.
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