G. S. Smith – författare

When we read a poem composed in iambic blank pentameter, it reminds us of Shakespeare. When we read a poem composed in long lines without rhyme or rhythm, we think of Whitman.In this ground-breaking study of the history of European versification, M. L. Gasparov shows how such chains of association link the poetry of numerous languages and diverse ages. Examining poetry written in 30 languages (from Irish to Belorussian) and over several millennia (from classical Latin and Greek to the experiments of the contemporary avant-garde), the book traces the ways in which the poetry of English, French, Russian, Greek and other European languages has developed from a single common Indo-European source. The account is liberally illustrated with verse examples, both in their original languages and in translation.

The Oxford Slavonic Papers contain original contributions and documents relating to the languages, literatures, culture, and history of Russia and other Slavonic countries. Volume XXXI includes the reproduction of four black and white plates illustrating a selection of letters by D. S. Mirsky.

This is the first biography in any language of 'Comrade Prince' D. S. Mirsky (1890-1939), who uniquely participated in three distinctive episodes of modern European culture. In late imperial St Petersburg he was a poet, a student of Oriental languages and ancient history, and also a Guards officer. After fighting in World War I and the Russian Civil War, Mirsky emigrated, taught at London University, and became a literary critic and historian, writing prolifically in English, and also in Russian for the Paris-centred emigration, especially as a leading member of the Eurasian movement. His closest literary relationships were with Marina Tsvetaeva and Aleksei Remizov, and later with Maksim Gorky. In 1926-7 he published A History of Russian Literature, written in English, which remains the standard introduction to the subject. While in London he lived in Bloomsbury and knew the Woolfs; he also knew T. S. Eliot, and was the first Russian critic to write about him. Mirsky became a Communist in 1931 and returned to Stalin's Moscow the following year, becoming a prominent Soviet critic, and in particular championing Boris Pasternak. In 1937 he was arrested, and died in the Gulag. This biography draws on much unpublished material, including Mirsky's NKVD files.

The Oxford Slavonic Papers contain original contributions and documents relating to the languages, literatures, culture, and history of Russia and other Slavonic countries.