- DOI:
- УДК / UDK: 821.161.1
- Issue:
- Abstract:
The published materials are the correspondence of Maxim Gorky and Abraham Leibovich Vysotsky, which had been awaiting publication for many years. Publishers raise the question of A.L. Vysotsky’s place in Jewish literature in Russian and in Russian literature. It is noted that Vysotsky’s works, appreciated by M. Gorky, who published a number of them in the journals “Letopis’” and “Beseda”, were not included in the canon of both Russian literature as well as its RussianJewish branch, and Israeli literature in Russian . The writer's biography, genesis and poetics of his works have so far remained beyond the attention of researchers, and one of the objectives of this publication is to try to fill this gap. In the introductory article, relying on archival materials, Vysotsky’s biography is reconstructed, a number of important facts are clarified, including his date of birth, information about his education, literary activity and connection with the Zionist movement is presented, the most significant periods of his life in Russia and Eretz Israel, where he repatriated in 1920, are described, and information on translations of his works into other languages and experiments on their staging is reported. Particular attention of the publishers is focused on the history of interaction between Vysotsky and Gorky who never met personally. This interaction developed exclusively in correspondence, which initially concerned Vysotsky’s attempts to offer his short stories to Gorky for publication in his journals. Letters are published according to autographs from the Gorky Archive (Institute of World Literature). The publication is supplemented by two appendixes containing Vysotsky's essay “Maxim Gorky and Zionism” and his drama “Blood of the Maccabees”.
- Keywords: Maxim Gorky, Abraham Vysotsky, Russian Jewish literature, the Zionist movement.
- For citation:
Khazan Vladimir, Katsman Roman, Zhukhovitskaya Larisa. “…I would be glad to find a little bit of a place in Russian literature…”: Abraham Vysotsky’s letters to Maxim Gorky. Literaturnyi fakt, 2020, no. 1 (15), pp. 115 – 174.
DOI 10.22455/2541-8297-2020-15-115-173
- References:
Cherniaeva T.G. G.D. Grebenshchikov: pis'ma v Peterburg (1912 – 1916) [G.D. Grebenshchikov: Letters to Petersburg]. Altaiskii tekst v russkoi kul'ture: materialy tret’ei regional'noi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii, 4 – 6 maia 2006 g. [The Altay Text in Russian Culture: Proc. 3d Regional Sci. Conf, May 4 – 6, 2006], issue 3. Barnaul, Altay University Publ., 2006, pp. 172 – 235. (In Russ.)
Eeten-Koopmans J. van. Boris Raptschinsky (1887 – 1983). Studia Rosenthaliana, 1996, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 282 – 303. (In English)
Gor'kii M. Iz literaturnogo naslediia: Gor'kii i evreiskii vopros [From literary legacy: Gorky and the Jewish question], comp. M. Agurskii, M. Shklovskaia. Jerusalem, Hebrew University Publ., Eastern European Jewry Research and Documentation Center Publ., 1986. 535 p. (In Russ.)
Hetényi Z. In a Maelstrom: The History of Russian-Jewish Prose (1860 – 1940). Budapest and New York, Central European University Press, 2008. 316 p. (In English)
Ianovskii N.N. Materialy k slovariu “Russkie pisateli Sibiri 20 veka”: Bibliograficheskie svedeniia [Materials to the dictionary “Russian writers of Siberia in the 20th century”: Bibliographic information]. Novosibirsk, Gornitsa Publ., 1997. 189 p. (In Russ.)
Katsis L. Tsar' Solomon, Aleksei Remizov i Gollandiia [The King Salomon, Alexey Remizov and Holland]. Lekhaim, 2004, no. 12 (152). Available at: http://www.lechaim.ru/ ARHIV/152/katsis.htm (accessed: 16.02.20). (In Russ.)
Katsis L., Tolstoy H. Judaica Rossica — Rossica Judaica. Jewishness in Russian Culture: Within and Without, ed. L. Katsis, H. Tolstoy. Leiden, Brill, 2014, pp. 1 – 20. (In English)
Katsman R. Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago in the Eyes of the Israeli Writers and Intellectuals (A Minimal Foundation of Multilingual Jewish Philology). Around the Point: Studies in Jewish Multilingual Literature, ed. Hillel Weiss, Roman Katsman, Ber Kotlerman. Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014, pp. 643 – 686. (In English)
Khazan V. O nekotorykh psevdonimakh deiatelei emigrantskoi russko-evreiskoi pechati (parizhskie ezhenedel’niki “Evreiskaia tribuna” i “Rassvet”) [On some pseudonyms of the Russian-Jewish émigré press characters (Parisian weeklies “Evreiskaia tribuna” and “Rassvet”)]. Psevdonimy russkogo zarubezh'ia: Materialy i issledovaniia [Pseudonyms of Russian diaspora: Materials and studies], ed. M. Schruba and O. Korostelev. Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2016, pp. 84 – 87. (In Russ.)
Khazan V. Pinkhas Rutenberg: ot terrorista k sionistu. Opyt identifikatsii cheloveka, kotoryi delal istoriiu [Pinkhas Rutenberg: from terrorist to Zionist. An attempt of identifying a person who was making history], in 2 vols. Jerusalem, Gesharim Publ., Moscow, Mosty kul’tury Publ., 2008. 974 p. (In Russ.)
Khazan V, Katsman R. “…Pero Vashe umeloe, mnogo serdtsa”: Iz perepiski Avraama Vysotskogo i Georgiia Grebenshchikova [“…Your pen is masterful, very hearty”: From the correspondence between Avraam Vysotsky and Georgy Grebenshchikov]. Altaiskii tekst v russkoi kul'ture: sb. statei [The Altay Text in Russian Culture], issue 8, ed. M.P. Grebneva, T.V. Chernysheva. Barnaul, Altay University Publ., 2019, pp. 113 – 145. (In Russ.)
Maor I. Sionistskoe dvizhenie v Rossii [The Zionist movement in Russia], transl. O. Mints. Jerusalem, Biblioteka-Aliia Publ., 1977. 450 p. (In Russ.)
Markish Sh. Russko-evreiskaia literatura: predmet, podkhody, otsenki [RussianJewish literature: subject, approaches, evaluations]. Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 1995, no. 15, pp. 217 – 250. (In Russ.)
Murav H. Music from a Speeding Train: Jewish Literature in Post-Revolution Russia. Stanford CA, Stanford University Press, 2011. 416 p. (In English)
Remizov i Gollandiia: Perepiska s B.N. Rapchinskim (1947 – 1957) [Remizov and Holland: Correspondence with B.N. Rapchinsky (1947 – 1957)], comp. T.V. Tsivian, ed. Viach.Vs. Ivanov. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2004. 165 p. (In Russ.)
Shrayer M.D. General Introduction: The Legacy of Jewish-Russian Literature. Voices of Jewish-Russian Literature, ed. M.D. Shrayer. Boston, Academic Studies Press, 2018, pp. XXI – LVIII. (In English)
Smola K. Contemporary Russian-Jewish Literature and Reinvention of Jewish Poetics. Around the Point: Studies in Jewish Literature and Culture in Multiple Languages, ed. H. Weiss, R. Katsman, B. Kotlerman. Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014, pp. 607 – 638. (In English)
Timenchik R. Glaz i slovo [Eye and word]. Lekhaim, 2006, no. 8 (172). Available at: https://lechaim.ru/ARHIV/172/timenchik.htm (accessed: 16.02.20). (In Russ.)
Timenchik R. Russkoe slovo o Zemle Izrailia [Russian word about the Land of Israel]. Lekhaim, 2006, no. 4 (168). Available at: https://lechaim.ru/ARHIV/168/timenchik.htm (accessed: 16.02.20). (In Russ.)
