Simon Karlinsky – författare

Through careful textual readings of Gogol's most famous works, Karlinsky argues that Gogol's homosexual orientation--which Gogol himself could not accept or forgive in himself--may provide the missing key to the riddle of Gogol's personality. "A brilliant new biography that will long be prized for its illuminating psychological insights into Gogol's actions, its informative readings of his fiction and drama, and its own stylistic grace and vivacity."--Edmund White, Washington Post Book World

Simon Karlinsky has substantially expanded and revised the first edition of Vladimir Nabokov and Edmund Wilson's correspondence to include fifty-nine letters discovered subsequent to the book's original publication in 1979. Since then, five volumes of Edmund Wilson's diaries have been published, as well as a volume of Nabokov's correspondence with other people and Brian Boyd's definitive two-volume biography of Nabokov. The additional letters and a considerable body of new annotations clarify the correspondence, tracing in greater detail the two decades of close friendship between the writers.

guide the Symbolist movement which dominated Russian literature for the first third of the twentieth century. A major poet, important playwright, and influential literary critic, she was also a sexual rebel who rejected traditional male/female roles as early as the 1890s. Vladimir Zlobin, her secretary and factotum from the time of her emigration to Paris after the revolution until her death in 1945, exposes the consequential inner workings of the literary circle around Gippius. His account of her three most important personal involvements--with her husband, the novelist and critic Dmitry Merezhkovsky; with the unattainable love of her life, the critic Dmitry Filosofov; and with the Devil, with whom she believed herself in personal contact--facilitates the task of understanding this truly "difficult soul." Himself a poet, Zlobin also offeres a detailed commentary on her poetry, and persuasively connects it to her personal and mystical experiences. In Karlinsky's perceptive introduction, Gippius emerges not only as one of the principals in the Modernist renascence of Russian poetry between 1890 and 1930, but as a figure of considerable historical interest, whose views, life, and work stand in significant relation to the major social, sexual, religious, and political currents of her time. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

This compelling volume explores the complex lives and creative achievements of Russian writers exiled during a turbulent half-century following the Bolshevik Revolution. From renowned figures like Ivan Bunin and Dmitry Merezhkovsky to emerging voices such as Nina Berberova and Boris Poplavsky, the book illuminates the struggles and triumphs of literary figures forced to navigate their craft far from home. Set against the backdrop of stringent Soviet censorship and Western indifference, The Bitter Air of Exile details how these authors sustained a flourishing émigré literary culture—complete with journals, publishing houses, and intellectual discourse—despite limited readership and pervasive hostility. Through anecdotes of writers like Vladimir Nabokov and their tenuous reception in Western literary circles, the work vividly portrays the isolation and resilience that defined émigré creativity.The collection further examines how émigré literature, often censored or dismissed in both Soviet and Western spheres, remains a vital but underappreciated component of 20th-century Russian literary heritage. It highlights how themes of individuality, mysticism, and surrealism found expression in exile, challenging the orthodoxies of Soviet culture. By featuring both celebrated and obscure writers, and spanning early émigré efforts through mid-century Cold War realities, the book makes a compelling case for reevaluating the global importance of Russian literature in exile. With its incisive critique of cultural prejudice and call to broaden the literary canon, The Bitter Air of Exile is an essential resource for understanding the richness and complexity of Russian literary traditions outside the U.S.S.R.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

California Slavic Studies: Volume VI delves into the richness of Russian and Slavic literature with scholarly essays exploring both renowned and underappreciated works and authors. Edited by Robert P. Hughes, Simon Karlinsky, and Vladimir Markov, this collection reflects the growth of Russian literary studies in the United States over the past quarter-century. The volume pays tribute to Gleb Struve, a towering figure in the field, whose influence on Russian émigré and Soviet literature scholarship is evident throughout. The essays range from 19th-century classics like Evgenij Onegin and Gogol’s works to in-depth analyses of 20th-century poets and prose writers such as Mandelstam, Blok, and Solzhenitsyn, highlighting themes of realism, modernism, and cultural interplay between Russian and Western traditions.This volume also features diverse critical approaches, such as Roman Jakobson’s study of poetic rhythm and Czeslaw Milosz’s exploration of Russian literature’s Western connections. With contributions from leading scholars and emerging voices, it combines deep textual analysis with broader cultural insights. The collection celebrates the dynamic evolution of Slavic studies while continuing to illuminate Russian literature's enduring complexity and relevance.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1971.

guide the Symbolist movement which dominated Russian literature for the first third of the twentieth century. A major poet, important playwright, and influential literary critic, she was also a sexual rebel who rejected traditional male/female roles as early as the 1890s. Vladimir Zlobin, her secretary and factotum from the time of her emigration to Paris after the revolution until her death in 1945, exposes the consequential inner workings of the literary circle around Gippius. His account of her three most important personal involvements--with her husband, the novelist and critic Dmitry Merezhkovsky; with the unattainable love of her life, the critic Dmitry Filosofov; and with the Devil, with whom she believed herself in personal contact--facilitates the task of understanding this truly "difficult soul." Himself a poet, Zlobin also offeres a detailed commentary on her poetry, and persuasively connects it to her personal and mystical experiences. In Karlinsky's perceptive introduction, Gippius emerges not only as one of the principals in the Modernist renascence of Russian poetry between 1890 and 1930, but as a figure of considerable historical interest, whose views, life, and work stand in significant relation to the major social, sexual, religious, and political currents of her time. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

This compelling volume explores the complex lives and creative achievements of Russian writers exiled during a turbulent half-century following the Bolshevik Revolution. From renowned figures like Ivan Bunin and Dmitry Merezhkovsky to emerging voices such as Nina Berberova and Boris Poplavsky, the book illuminates the struggles and triumphs of literary figures forced to navigate their craft far from home. Set against the backdrop of stringent Soviet censorship and Western indifference, The Bitter Air of Exile details how these authors sustained a flourishing émigré literary culture—complete with journals, publishing houses, and intellectual discourse—despite limited readership and pervasive hostility. Through anecdotes of writers like Vladimir Nabokov and their tenuous reception in Western literary circles, the work vividly portrays the isolation and resilience that defined émigré creativity.The collection further examines how émigré literature, often censored or dismissed in both Soviet and Western spheres, remains a vital but underappreciated component of 20th-century Russian literary heritage. It highlights how themes of individuality, mysticism, and surrealism found expression in exile, challenging the orthodoxies of Soviet culture. By featuring both celebrated and obscure writers, and spanning early émigré efforts through mid-century Cold War realities, the book makes a compelling case for reevaluating the global importance of Russian literature in exile. With its incisive critique of cultural prejudice and call to broaden the literary canon, The Bitter Air of Exile is an essential resource for understanding the richness and complexity of Russian literary traditions outside the U.S.S.R.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

California Slavic Studies: Volume VI delves into the richness of Russian and Slavic literature with scholarly essays exploring both renowned and underappreciated works and authors. Edited by Robert P. Hughes, Simon Karlinsky, and Vladimir Markov, this collection reflects the growth of Russian literary studies in the United States over the past quarter-century. The volume pays tribute to Gleb Struve, a towering figure in the field, whose influence on Russian émigré and Soviet literature scholarship is evident throughout. The essays range from 19th-century classics like Evgenij Onegin and Gogol’s works to in-depth analyses of 20th-century poets and prose writers such as Mandelstam, Blok, and Solzhenitsyn, highlighting themes of realism, modernism, and cultural interplay between Russian and Western traditions.This volume also features diverse critical approaches, such as Roman Jakobson’s study of poetic rhythm and Czeslaw Milosz’s exploration of Russian literature’s Western connections. With contributions from leading scholars and emerging voices, it combines deep textual analysis with broader cultural insights. The collection celebrates the dynamic evolution of Slavic studies while continuing to illuminate Russian literature's enduring complexity and relevance.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1971.

This book is a major critical biography of the poet Maria Tsvetaeva by one of the foremost authorities on her work. It draws on a profusion of recent documentation and research, some of it hitherto unpublished, and encompasses the whole course of her life. Professor Karlinsky is careful to supply the reader with the necessary context for understanding the work by setting out the historical, political and literary background against which Tsvetaeva's life and literary development evolved. A particular feature of the book is a discussion of Tsvetaeva's relationships with her literary contemporaries, especially Mandelstam, Rilke, Akhmatova, Pasternak, and Mayakovsky, and of her emotional involvement with various men and women that are reflected in her poetry, plays and prose. Interest in Tsvetaeva's work has grown considerably and this important book will be essential reading both to scholars of twentieth-century Russian literature and cultural studies and to all serious students of modern literature.