The literary personality of Alexei Remizov in the Siberian periodical press of the 1910s

Abstract

Based on the material of publications published in the central Siberian periodicals, the article examines critical reception of Alexei Remizov’s works. Particular attention is paid to the analytical reviews of Elena A. Koltonovskaya, a Moscow columnist who collaborated with the Tomsk newspaper Sibirskaya zhizn’, and Nikolai F. Chuzhak-Nasimovich, a leading journalist and critic of the Irkutsk newspapers Vostochnaya zarya, Sibirskie otgoloski, Irkutskoe slovo. Remizov’s works “The Indefatigable Tambourine” and “The Cross Sisters” are analyzed in the context of the realistic and modernist approaches of critics to art, critics’ dialogue with representatives of the literary environment of Central Russia. As an example of a lively reaction to Remizov’s works, the author of the article presents the view of an anonymous reader, who opposed the Irkutsk critic on behalf of the local intelligentsia, called “The Indefatigable Tambourine” “the delirium of a madman” thus demonstrating not only an absolute rejection of the writer’s artistic style, but also unwillingness to perceive new literary trends. The author devotes a separate analytical section to the reviews of Remizov’s works, presented sporadically and written without interest in the writer’s personality and works; Remizov’s legacy was analyzed in the context of the creative approaches of his contemporaries. Particular attention is paid to the parodies published on the pages of the newspapers Sibirskie otgoloski (Tomsk) and Vechernie izvestiya (Irkutsk) in 1910 and 1918. In line with the editorial policy of the newspapers, oriented mainly towards the mass reader, who got an idea of the writer from publications in the press, parodies of contemporary authors’ works were perceived as a vivid characteristic, a kind of a literary portrait. The texts dedicated to Remizov ridiculed the specificity of his language and style, the peculiarities of his creative manner. His socio-political position, which was voiced in one of the key and iconic texts of the revolutionary time, “The Commandment to the Russian People”, was presented to the reader in an absolutely destructive ironic manner, distorting Remizov’s idea. As a result of the analysis, the author came to the conclusion about the formation of a controversial opinion about Remizov’s art, which developed both among the profane readers and the intellectuals. On the one hand, the analytical performances of Koltonovskaya and Chuzhak- Nasimovich contributed to the emergence of a deep and conscious appreciation of Remizov’s works; on the other hand, sporadic parodic critical responses deprived the reader of the opportunity to form a holistic view of the constants of the writer’s artistic world. Unlike numerous reviews published in St. Petersburg and Moscow, where Remizov’s artistic practices were perceived in the context of the contemporary historical and literary atmosphere, and the critics were analyzing the genesis of the author’s creative world, the publications of Siberian journalists aroused in readers feelings of antipathy, misunderstanding and rejection of Remizov’s manner rather than a desire to comprehend the specifics of the writer’s gift.