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Russian Literature in Exile Slavistische Beiträge ∙ Band 154 (eBook - Digi20-Retro) László Dienes Russian Literature in Exile The Life and Work of Gajto Gazdanov Verlag Otto Sagner München ∙ Berlin ∙ Washington D.C. Digitalisiert im Rahmen der Kooperation mit dem DFG-Projekt „Digi20“ der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek, München. OCR-Bearbeitung und Erstellung des eBooks durch den Verlag Otto Sagner: http://verlag.kubon-sagner.de © bei Verlag Otto Sagner. Eine Verwertung oder Weitergabe der Texte und Abbildungen, insbesondere durch Vervielfältigung, ist ohne vorherige schriftliche Genehmigung des Verlages unzulässig. «Verlag Otto Sagner» ist ein Imprint der Kubon & Sagner GmbHLászló. Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 00050435 S l a v is t ic h e Beiträge BEGRÜNDET VON ALOIS SCHMAUS HERAUSGEGEBEN VON JOHANNES HOLTHUSEN HEINRICH KUNSTMANN PETER REHDER■JOSEF SCHRENK REDAKTION PETER REHDER Band 154 VERLAG OTTO SAGNER • • MÜNCHEN László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 00050435 LÁSZLÓ DIENES RUSSIAN LITERATURE IN EXILE: THE LIFE AND WORK OF GAJTO GAZDANOV VERLAG OTTO SAGNER • MÜNCHEN 1982 László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München ISBN 3-87690-223*1 © Verlag Otto Sagner, München 1982 Abteilung der Firma Kubon & Sagner, München Druck: UNI-Druck, München László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 00050435 László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 00050436 To Klara, Claire and Theo Lingua amoris, caeteris barbara. Печальная доля - так сложно, Так трудно и празднично жить, и стать достояньем доцента, И критиков новых плодить... (A. Blok) (Depressing fate: to live a life So complex, hard and festive Only to end as young don's prey And serve to breed new critics... (tr. S. Hackel) László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 00050436 PREFACE This book is a revised, updated but also considerably abridged version of the author's doctoral dissertation written at Harvard University and completed in 1977. Interested readers should con- suit the original dissertation for numerous further details as well as for its significantly more extensive documentation which it was impossible to reproduce here. As it is offered here, the present work attempts to provide a comprehensive, although by no means ex- haustive, monographic study of the life and work of Gajto Gazdanov. It is intended not only for the specialist in Russian emigre litera- ture but also for the general reader interested in Russian or con- temporary or emigre literatures. How we decided to accomplish our task is explained in the "Introduction”. Here we should perhaps say a few words on what this study is not. First of all, it cannot claim to exhaust its subject matter. There are aspects to Gazdan- ov's literary work, such as, for example, certain periods in his creative life, certain themes in his fiction, and in particular his critical work which spanned, with long interruptions, over forty years, that could not be dealt with. Some aspects and periods of s personal life could not as yet be touched upon or brought״Gazdanov to life more fully either; nor have his manuscripts, now deposited at Harvard University, been fully studied and integrated into our discussion of his published oeuvre. There remains a wealth of mate- rial, both in his manuscripts and in the published work, that is still awaiting the critic and the literary scholar. It is our sin- cere hope that our work will be but the first in a series of studies devoted to this writer who certainly deserves much more attention and recognition than has been accorded so far. Since the present volume is not meant exclusively for the specia- list who knows Russian all quotations are given in English. The László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 00050435 Vili Russian original is included only in two cases: when it has never been published before; and when it may be of interest to the specia- list, particularly for consideration in matters of style. Except for the titles of the two novels published in English all the titles of Gazdanov's novels and short stories are given in our own trans- lation. The original Russian title is added at the beginning of each chapter or sub-chapter in Part Two, where the particular work is discussed in more detail. There are no footnotes in this book. All quotations are referenced in the text with the minimum informa- tion necessary to identify the work. Essentially, two different kinds of bibliographical reference are used. The more common is a numerical reference, for example "(no. 109)” refers to M. Slonim's article, the corresponding number in the "Bibliography" at the end of this study. In most cases this system without page references is used to identify the bibliographical data of very brief critical reviews about Gazdanov. Quotations from Gazdanov1s fiction, on the other hand, are usually identified in the text itself, with page re- ferences given in parentheses. If the work was published over seve- ral issues of a journal the parenthetical reference will first list volume number, then page number; for example on p. 161 ” (vol. 17, p. 26-7)" refers to the journal *lovyj žurnal because that's where the novel The Specter of Alexander Wolf, mentioned in the text, was pub- lished. All such volume and page references are to the first Russi- an edition; if a novel was both serialized and published in book form all page references are to the book edition. When Russian quota tions are transliterated the so-called scholarly system is used. For the English speaking reader who has no Russian the following rules may prove helpful: £ is ch (as in cheer), 5 is sh (as in sheer), i i the s in measure, i is i (as in hit), j is y (as in you), x is the ch in Bach and с is the z in Mozart. Segments of this study were published, in somewhat different form in an article entitled "An Unpublished Letter by Maksim Gor'kij Or Who Is Gajto Gazdanov?" in Die Welt der Sloven (1979) and in the in- troductory essay to Bibliographie des oeuvres do Gajto Grfzdanov, Paris, 1982. László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 00050436 IX We wish to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the following individuals and institutions without whose support and contribution this book could not have been written. Our most speci- al thanks are due to Mrs. Faina Dmitrievna Gazdanov, the writer's widow, who shared with us all her knowledge of Gazdanov's life, cha- racter and work and whose generous gift of the entire Gazdanov arch- ives to The Houghton Library of Harvard University will undoubtedly foster future research. It is our pleasure to note here that this study in its initial form has been read by Mrs. F. D. Gazdanov and her valuable corrections and additions have been incorporated in the present work. We are also grateful to her for permission to use un- published materials; as to Gazdanov's published works, we had the good fortune of being able to rely on the incomparable collection in the Harvard College Library where we had easy access to almost all of them. We are most grateful also to the many individuals whom we had the privilege of meeting in Paris, Geneva, Munich and elsewhere and who were kind enough to share with us their knowledge and their memories of Gazdanov. Some of the most valuable contributions came from the following, now deceased, distinguished representatives of the first Russian emigration: Marc Slonim, Vladimir Vejdle (Weidle), A. Mar- chak, Ju. Terapiano, V. Varsavskij and Vadim Andreev. Through in- terviews, correspondence or conversations we have been aided by Ju. Ivask, T. A. Osorgina, A. Baxrax, N. Berberova, G. Struve, L. Rzev- skij, R. Guerra, M. Lamzaky and N. Reisini. We are greatly indebted to Radio Liberty, its Paris Bureau and particularly the Munich cen- ter where all the Gazdanov materials were kindly put at our disposal, and its staff members, especially to Mile Helene Robert, Witold A. Ryser, John Bue and Z. Sztumpf. For his advice and suggestions we are most grateful to Professor V. M. Setchkarev of Harvard University without whose initial encour- agement and continued support this study would never have been under- taken, nor completed. It is our pleasant duty to also acknowledge and thank here the material support of the International Research and Exchange Board which made consultations in Europe possible, the Russian Research László Dienes - 9783954792702 Downloaded from PubFactory at 01/10/2019 05:15:22AM via free access 0005Q435 X Center at Harvard University where a fellowship enabled us to engage in full time research for a year; the University of Massachusetts whose Faculty Research Grant allowed us to continue and update our work; and the American Council of Learned Societies whose grant-in- aid helped us significantly in bringing this project to completion. Finally, we wish to thank Ms. E. Dworan for her typing; friends, native speakers of English, who agreed to eliminate the most glaring mistakes in our English; and, last but certainly not least, members of our family for their patience in putting up with it all for so many years.
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