
Form and Transformation in Soviet Underground Writing
University of Toronto Press
Will be published approx. on 25. August 2026
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-4875-8294-4 (ISBN)
Description
Form and Transformation in Soviet Underground Writing examines the rich literary and cultural innovation that thrived under Soviet censorship in the post-Stalin era. Moving beyond the idea of the underground as merely oppositional, this volume presents it as a vibrant field of artistic experimentation and social imagination.
Through close readings of writers such as Leonid Aronzon, Vsevolod Nekrasov, Olga Sedakova, and Elena Shvarts - alongside studies of Vasilisk Gnedov's late poetry, the international circulation of Evgenia Ginzburg's memoirs, and conversations about publishing Soviet underground writing in the post-Soviet era - the collection explores how underground works moved within samizdat (self-publishing in the USSR) and out to tamizdat (publishing abroad). As these texts crossed media, borders, and decades, they gained new meanings and reshaped ideas of authorship and community. Bringing together literary, historical, and sociological perspectives, the book centres the intermediaries - editors, readers, and translators - who sustained creative autonomy under censorship and fostered communication beyond state control.
By linking Soviet-era artistic innovation to today's contexts of digital culture and renewed authoritarianism, the book reveals how the underground's independence and inventive energy continue to inspire new forms of creativity, resistance, and cultural resilience.
Through close readings of writers such as Leonid Aronzon, Vsevolod Nekrasov, Olga Sedakova, and Elena Shvarts - alongside studies of Vasilisk Gnedov's late poetry, the international circulation of Evgenia Ginzburg's memoirs, and conversations about publishing Soviet underground writing in the post-Soviet era - the collection explores how underground works moved within samizdat (self-publishing in the USSR) and out to tamizdat (publishing abroad). As these texts crossed media, borders, and decades, they gained new meanings and reshaped ideas of authorship and community. Bringing together literary, historical, and sociological perspectives, the book centres the intermediaries - editors, readers, and translators - who sustained creative autonomy under censorship and fostered communication beyond state control.
By linking Soviet-era artistic innovation to today's contexts of digital culture and renewed authoritarianism, the book reveals how the underground's independence and inventive energy continue to inspire new forms of creativity, resistance, and cultural resilience.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
33 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
1 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-8294-4 (9781487582944)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Catherine Ciepiela is Howard M. and Martha P. Mitchell professor of Russian at Amherst College.
Ann Komaromi is a professor at the Centre for Comparative Literature and the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures at the University of Toronto.
Ilja Kukuj is a lecturer for Russian language, literature, and regional and cultural Studies at Ludwig Maximilian University.
Ann Komaromi is a professor at the Centre for Comparative Literature and the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures at the University of Toronto.
Ilja Kukuj is a lecturer for Russian language, literature, and regional and cultural Studies at Ludwig Maximilian University.
Content
The Soviet Underground Revisited: An Introduction
Catherine Ciepiela, Ann Komaromi, and Ilja Kukuj
Forms of the Soviet Underground
Ann Komaromi
Section I: Forms of Transmission
From Magadan to Milan: Evgeniia Ginzburg's Journey into the Whirlwind as an Example of the Transnational "Socialization of Texts"
Valentina Parisi
The Blue Lagoon Anthology and the Form of the Archive
Catherine Ciepiela
Digitalizing Obshchenie: Olga Sedakova's Post-Soviet Poetics
Martha M. F. Kelly
Interview with Matvei Yankelevich (Ann Komaromi), the Eastern European Poets Series
Section II: Forms of Poetry
Filling the Empty Page: Vasilisk Gnedov on the Way from Book to Text
Ilja Kukuj
The Birth of Poetry from the Spirit of Nothing: The Case of Leonid Aronzon
Petr Kazarnovskii
Tradition, Transformed: Two Dedication Poems by Elena Shvarts
Laura Little
All and Any: On Vsevolod Nekrasov's Textual Variations
Ainsley Morse
Interview with Mark Lipovetsky (Ilja Kukuj), Approaching Prigov
Catherine Ciepiela, Ann Komaromi, and Ilja Kukuj
Forms of the Soviet Underground
Ann Komaromi
Section I: Forms of Transmission
From Magadan to Milan: Evgeniia Ginzburg's Journey into the Whirlwind as an Example of the Transnational "Socialization of Texts"
Valentina Parisi
The Blue Lagoon Anthology and the Form of the Archive
Catherine Ciepiela
Digitalizing Obshchenie: Olga Sedakova's Post-Soviet Poetics
Martha M. F. Kelly
Interview with Matvei Yankelevich (Ann Komaromi), the Eastern European Poets Series
Section II: Forms of Poetry
Filling the Empty Page: Vasilisk Gnedov on the Way from Book to Text
Ilja Kukuj
The Birth of Poetry from the Spirit of Nothing: The Case of Leonid Aronzon
Petr Kazarnovskii
Tradition, Transformed: Two Dedication Poems by Elena Shvarts
Laura Little
All and Any: On Vsevolod Nekrasov's Textual Variations
Ainsley Morse
Interview with Mark Lipovetsky (Ilja Kukuj), Approaching Prigov