American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages L'avanguardia a Tiflis by Luigi Margarotto; Marzio Marzaduri; Giovanna Pagani Cesa Review by: Juliette R. Stapanian The Slavic and East European Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 394-396 Published by: American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/307874 . Accessed: 12/06/2014 14:59 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. . American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Slavic and East European Journal. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 91.229.248.187 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:59:00 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aatseel http://www.jstor.org/stable/307874?origin=JSTOR-pdf http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp 394 Slavic and East European Journal Three of Amal'rik's works-Prosusiestvuet ii Sovetskij Sojuz do 1984 goda?; P'esy; and Nete- lannoe putegestvie v Sibir'-have been translated into English, and the present edition and translation of Zapiski dissidenta by Guy Daniels promises to fill a gap in current Amal'rik scholarship in English. Because Amal'rik's memoirs lucidly chronicle an important decade in Soviet cultural history from the viewpoint of an informed, astute participant and observer, the publisher and translator are to be commended for making Amal'rik's Zapiski dissidenta avail- able to the English reader in a handsome volume. However, Amal'rik's legacy and memory regrettably are ill-served by the present format and translation of his Zapiski. A close comparison of Mr. Daniel's translation with the Russian original published by Ardis reveals so many lacunae and liberties that the reviewer wonders if the translator worked from a truncated and corrupt version of Amalrik's Zapiski. For exam- ple, even the title, Zapiski dissidenta, is rendered imprecisely as Notes of a Revolutionary, a title which is alleged to "evoke the memoirs of Prince Peter Kropotkin" [Memoirs of a Revolution- ist-A.L.], although this citation does not exist in the original Russian preface by Amal'rik. Moreover, the table of contents itself is misleading: the heading of Part Two (Otkuda net vozvrata) becomes "Toward the Place From Which No One Returns"; and Chapter 23 (Svjataja Olka i evrei) is simplifed to "Saint Olga and the Jew." Of far greater importance are the innumerable, often lengthy omissions of significant passages from every one of the twenty- seven chapters of the Russian original, so that the present translation should be labeled as an abridged edition. In Chapter One alone (Xudoiniki i kollekcionery) I found cuts ranging from words, phrases, sentences, to whole paragraphs without any indication that deletions had been made. And what has been rendered by Mr. Daniels has been paraphrased with such poetic license that his work should be considered a free adaptation, and not a translation, of Amal'- rik's text: words and phrases are added, or names are changed ("Edvard i Nona" turn into "Richard and Lidia") without explanation or apparent respect for Amal'rik's text. Because Amal'rik's Zapiski dissidenta is the key and culmination to his chronicle and corpus, as well as a revealing account of Breinev's corrective labor camps and Andropov's KGB, it is to be hoped that the publisher and translator of this work will prepare a complete edition restoring all cuts and incorporating a thoroughly revised translation that will do full justice to the memory and merit of Andrej Amal'rik. Albert Leong, University of Oregon L'avanguardia a Tiflis. Eds. Luigi Margarotto, Marzio Marzaduri and Giovanna Pagani Cesa. (Quaderni del Seminario di Iranistica e Caucosologia dell'Universita degli Studi di Vene- zia, 13.) Venice: Universita degli Studi di Venezia, 1982. 323 pp., Lire 40,000 (paper). [Available through: Libreria Herder, Piazza Montecitorio 120, Rome, Italy.] In Vladimir Markov's monumental study of the Russian avant-garde he calls the period in Transcaucasia from the mid 1910's to the early 1920's "one of the most fascinating, though little-known, episodes in the history of Russian futurism" (Russian Futurism.: A History [Berke- ley: Univ. of California Press, 1968], 336). The recent publication L'avanguardia a Tiflis repre- sents a major stride in the chronicling of this period and sheds light upon the interchange among Russian modernists and their counterparts in the Georgian city of Tiflis (now Tbilisi). The book is divided into two parts. The first section presents a variety of themes on the Georgian and Russian avant-garde and the second part of the book includes reminiscences and poems. The work is an international effort with contributors from the West and the Soviet Union. Two articles are in English and the rest of the materials are in Russian, Italian, and This content downloaded from 91.229.248.187 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:59:00 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Reviews 395 French. Assistance from leading historians of Russian futurism, Vladimir Markov, and Soviet scholar Nikolaj Xardfiev, is also acknowledged. The work is well documented and makes use of rare materials. Because of the major focus of the book, it serves more as a historical portrait than a comprehensive analysis of the arts. The scene which greeted Russian artists brought to Tiflis by World War I, Revolution, and Civil War has received little attention by Western scholars. The book opens with a short article by John Bowlt on the Georgian painter Lado Gudiavili, whose work exhibits a fruitful blend of Georgian traditional art, West European, and Russian contemporary trends. Bowlt suggests intriguing parallels of Gudiavili with Modigliani and with Filonov. Although much remains to be done to address the complex issue of Transcaucasian tradition in Gudiavili's work, the parallels Bowlt notes suggest the need for a broader look at the question of oriental- ism in the art of the Europan avant-garde. Another pivotal figure in the Georgian arts of the period is David Kakabidze, and G. Buatidze presents excerpts of Kakabidze's critical thought in an essay. The history of the avant-garde in Tiflis is largely a story of zaum' or "transrational art." Gerald Janetek addresses the difficult matter of zaum' in dramas ("dra") by I. Zdanevi6 (Iljazd). Defining the written language of zaum' as a "precise visual representation of itself" (33) Janebek proceeds to query oral performance of zaum' scripts and plants seeds for the further study of polyphony in the plays. Interrelationships of spelling with rules of Russian phonetics, along with what Janetek calls possible "accidental" (35) reversions to traditional orthography and "imprecisions" (36) of spelling are among the many aspects briefly presented in the article. Although a "non-zaum"' Russian is spoken of in distinction from the zaum' in ZdaneviE's plays, one wonders if their very mixture together in a zaum' frame results in a tension that places new valence upon what would seem to be "non-zaum"' Russian. This energy may also be related to the conflict arising from the apparent "inconsistencies" or orthography Janedek notes. Another major figure of Russian zaum' literature in Tiflis is Igor' Terenfev who is discussed by Leningrad scholar Tat'jana Nikolskaja. Little has been written about Terentev (189), and Nikol'skaja's finely documented overview of his work highlights the notion of semantic identification by sound, the importance of dance and gesture, and the significance of figures such as Gurdiiev and Freud to the avant-garde in Tiflis. Her sugges- tions about the absurd and emerging surrealism are themes one hopes could be pursued. Along with the zaum' of Zdanevi? and Terenfev arise questions about "410"'s best known leader, A. Krudenyx. In an ambitious article dedicated to V. Katanjan, Rosemary Ziegler explores the poetics of Krudenyx during the "41"" period, with particular emphasis upon the sound plane in his work. She delineates two stages in Krudenyx's art-his collaboration with Xlebnikov, and his work with Malevi6 beginning with the play Victory over the Sun. Although one might argue that the two periods greatly overlap, the designation of Malevi6 as the pivotal element in the second phase permits Ziegler's promotion of the notion of "Suprematist zaum"' in poetry. Kruienyx himself identified suprematist painting as a kind of zaum. Ziegler does discuss reflections of Malevia's art in Krudenyx's poetic transrationalism, but the interrelation- ship between the work of the two artists is more symbiotic than is acknowledged in the article. Ziegler's definition of a "suprematist," mostly monosyllabic, "economic" zaum' that offers a "meta-language" of "quiet, mute poetry" in which sound takes a secondary role (242) is curi- ous but not yet convincing. Ziegler asserts that Krudenyx returned to a focus upon sound poetry in his later work for "410," and her catalogue of sound associations in Krubenyx's work is useful as is the concluding list of Krudenyx's publications in Tiflis. The idea that the zaum' of Aljagrov, Terentev, Zdanevi6, "etc." had differing goals invites careful explanation (256). By far the longest articles in the book are in Italian by two of the editors: Luigi Magarotto's "History and Theory of the Georgian Avant-garde (1915-1924)" and Marzio Marzaduri's "MenYevik Futurism." Both authors present serious efforts to untangle the complex interplay among a great many Caucasian, Russian, and West European currents in Tiflis at a critical This content downloaded from 91.229.248.187 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:59:00 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp 396 Slavic and East European Journal time. Magarotto includes information about Georgian artists such as Cikovani, Tabidze, and Robakidze (whom he calls a Xlebnikov, 72). He also writes about the development of the Georgian neo-symbolist "Blue Horns," Krutenyx' Russian futurism as post-futurism in Geor- gia, the role of "41?," the nature of "dadaist nullism" among the avant-garde (71), and the curious, but short-lived group "H2SO4." Whereas Magarotto's emphasis is upon Georgian artists and writers, Marzaduri's work examines in impressive detail the activities of and sur- rounding the Russian writers Krudenyx, Terentev, and Zdanevi' during the period of the Republic of Georgia. The obtaining of texts and materials for such a discussion is itself a significant contribution since many of the works of the "41"' are rare items (99). Marzaduri writes about the programs of the Sindikatfuturistov, the futurvseu'ibi ce, evenings at the "Fan- tastic Tavern," "41'," and the Russian Acmeists in Tiflis. The study also follows Ilja Zdanevi6 to Paris. Marzaduri's discussion of alogic art and zaum' reflects the need to better distinguish the two concepts, and the contention that "41"" represents a significant intermediary between dadaism and surrealism (173) affirms the value of a closer understanding of the Tiflis period. A collection of small pieces adds dimension to the book. In an article by A. Parnis the events of Osip Mandel''tam's life in Georgia in 1921 are discussed. Parnis also elucidates the relationship of Mandel''tam with Armenian Futurist Kara-Darvi', and the book includes what has become Nadeida Mandel''tam's last commentary. In a brief essay complementing an ear- lier publication, Helene Zdanevi' writes of Iljazd's colorfully active years in Paris, 1921-23. Among other short but important contributions in the book are reminiscences of V. Katanjan and a work on Zdanevi6, "Le degre 41 sinapise." Poems and photographs complete the book. L'avanguardia a Tiflis is a collection of highly varied studies which together form an impor- tant advance in establishing the historical development of Russian modernism. As such, it is "a must" for any library on the Russian avant-garde. But, the provocative juxtaposition of people and ideas in Tiflis described in the book calls for further study to reach a more com- prehensive understanding of the dynamics reflected in the works of art of the period. The book thus serves to whet the appetite by raising many unanswered questions about the Geor- gian "connection" in avant-garde thought. Juliette R. Stapanian, Emory University George G. Grabowicz. The Poet as Mythmaker: A Study of Symbolic Meaning in Taras Sevcenko. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute. 1982, x, 170, $12.50. [Distrib. by the Harvard Univ. Press.] It is clear from George Grabowicz's relatively short, yet first-rate study of Taras Sevienko that he has responded to the long standing need for English language publications in Sev'enko criticism which would have a universal significance. As Professor Grabowicz indicates, the manifest genius of the Ukraine's national bard has too long been obscured by the tendency of Ukrainian exegetes to render him the mouthpiece of their respective ideologies. Here, we are given a fresh, alternative view of themes from Sevienko's historical poems. Grabowicz departs from the methodology of traditional ?evienko scholarship, choosing instead to apply a technique of criticsm which ". . . draws in various crucial respects on the theoretical and methodological contributions of structural anthropology, particularly from the area of the interrelation of culture and symbolism and the domain of symbolic analysis" (ix-x). Grabowicz's innovative approach to Sevienko's poetry successfully distances him from those whom he labels "engage ideologues"--both Ukrainian nationalists and Soviet ?evienko schol- ars. It enables him to undertake the task of revealing the universal significance of Sevienko's This content downloaded from 91.229.248.187 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:59:00 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Article Contents p. 394 p. 395 p. 396 Issue Table of Contents The Slavic and East European Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 293-409 Front Matter The Permutations of a Complex Metaphor: Dostoevskij's Sunsets [pp. 293-301] Dostoevsky's Anti-Semitism and the Critics: A Review Article [pp. 302-317] Tolstoj's Reading of George Eliot: Visions and Revisions [pp. 318-326] Russian Formalism and the Objective Analysis of Sound in Poetry [pp. 327-338] A New Bright Shore for Sereža [pp. 339-353] Krasiński's Undivine Comedy and Goethe's Faust [pp. 354-364] The Structure of the Bridge on the Drina [pp. 365-373] Note New Contents Slavistics: A Journal Indexing Service [pp. 374-378] Reviews Review: untitled [pp. 379-380] Review: untitled [pp. 380-383] Review: untitled [pp. 383-384] Review: untitled [pp. 384-385] Review: untitled [pp. 385-387] Review: untitled [pp. 387-389] Review: untitled [pp. 389-391] Review: untitled [pp. 391-393] Review: untitled [pp. 393-394] Review: untitled [pp. 394-396] Review: untitled [pp. 396-397] Review: untitled [pp. 398-399] Review: untitled [pp. 399-400] Review: untitled [pp. 400-402] Review: untitled [pp. 402-403] Review: untitled [pp. 403-405] Review: untitled [pp. 405-406] Review: untitled [pp. 406-407] Books Received [pp. 408-409] Back Matter