Silence and the Rest: Verbal Skepticism in Russian Poetry

312 Pages·2013·1.444 MB·English

by  Sofya Khagi

Silence and the Rest
Northwestern University Press
Studies in Russian Literature and Theory
Series Editors
Robert Belknap
Caryl Emerson
Gary Saul Morson
William Mills Todd III
Andrew Wachtel
Silence and the Rest
VERBAL SKEPTICISM IN RUSSIAN POETRY
Sofya Khagi
northwestern university press / evanston, illinois
Northwestern University Press
www .nupress.northwestern .edu
This book has been published with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation.
Copyright © 2013 by Northwestern University Press. Published 2013.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Khagi, Sofya.
Silence and the rest : verbal skepticism in Russian poetry / Sofya Khagi.
p. cm. — (Northwestern University Press studies in Russian literature and
theory)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8101-2920-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Russian poetry—History and criticism. 2. Language and languages—
Philosophy. I. Title. II. Series: Studies in Russian literature and theory.
PG3041.K43 2013
891.7109—dc23
2013004711
o The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction Silence and the Rest 3
Chapter One Initiating the Paradigm: The Inexpressible
in Russian Romanticism 40
Chapter Two Osip Mandelstam’s Many- Voiced Silentiums 75
Chapter Three A Figure That Leaves You Speechless:
Joseph Brodsky on Death and Language 117
Chapter Four “A Poet Is Less Than a Poet”: Timur Kibirov’s
Merry Logophobia 163
Conclusion Logophobia in the Land of Logos 190
Notes 211
Bibliography 263
Index 295

Acknowledgments
This book took many years of work, and many people contributed to it along
the way.
I would like to thank my dissertation advisor, Svetlana Evdokimova
of Brown University, and the members of my dissertation committee, Alex-
ander Levitsky of Brown University and Stephanie Sandler of Harvard Uni-
versity, for their expertise and help with the project in its initial stages.
I owe an immense debt of gratitude to Stephanie Sandler. Throughout
all these years and all the stages of the project’s development, Stephanie has
tirelessly and generously guided me—reading multiple drafts of the manu-
script, providing thorough and stimulating commentary on them, encourag-
ing me to push on with my work and develop it in novel and enriching ways,
and always being by my side with astute advice and staunch support.
I would like to express my warm appreciation to all my colleagues at
the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, for their endorsement of this project. I am especially
grateful to my mentor Herbert Eagle for his great advice on later chapter
drafts; to Michael Makin for his numerous valuable insights on the manu-
script; to Mikhail Krutikov for his recommendations on the book’s comple-
tion; and to Olga Maiorova and Jindrich Toman for their helpful comments
at various stages.
The book benefi tted much from the manuscript workshop that took
place at the University of Michigan in October 2010. I am indebted to Mi-
chael Makin for his thorough, insightful, and encouraging comments at the
workshop; to Michael Wachtel of Princeton University for his advice and
encouragement; to Sarah Pratt of the University of Southern California for
her insightful critique; and to Herbert Eagle for organizing this very helpful
event.
I owe much to Michael Wachtel for his attentive reading and astute
comments on the manuscript, not only at the workshop stage but earlier as
well. His suggestions were instrumental in shaping my work as it evolved
from a doctoral thesis into a book project, and his enthusiasm for the project
vii
Acknowledgments
was heartening. Irene Masing-D elic of Ohio State University and Gerald
Janecek of the University of Kentucky gave helpful feedback on the sections
of early chapter versions published in The Russian Review and The SEEJ,
respectively; Irene also contributed to this study in the course of our many
friendly conversations and through e-mail exchange. Kathleen Parthé of the
University of Rochester and Barry Scherr of Dartmouth College both took
time to read the manuscript and share their thoughts on it; Kathleen, my
undergraduate teacher of Russian literature and a source of inspiration, pro-
vided many helpful editing suggestions.
At Northwestern University Press, I am indebted to Gary Saul Morson
for his endorsement of the project, to Mike Levine for guiding me through
the intricacies of the publication process, and to my anonymous reviewers
for suggesting ways of enriching my work.
This book is dedicated to my parents, Khaya and Kasriyel Khagi. I ad-
mire their decency and strength—they did what only they could do under
circumstances only they know.
viii
Silence and the Rest