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Martina Napolitano explores the poetics of one of the most significant Russian authors of the 20th century. Sasha Sokolov's oeuvre represents a milestone in the development of Russian literature; his legacy can be traced in most prose and poetry appearing in post-Soviet Russia. Taking as point of departure the studies and analyses written so far and considering the new suggestions contained in Sokolov's last published book Triptych (2011), Napolitano further examines the keystones and the theoretical framework that arise from a close reading of Sokolov's works, trying to systematize the findings into what can be considered as a structured authorial theory of literary creation.The study demonstrates how Sokolov's oeuvre cannot be fully understood but within the widened perspective of inter-artistic creation: In fact, the writer, a "failed composer", as he admits, in his literary work has tried to draw natural and spontaneous connecting lines between the artificially categorized realms of art (word, sound, painting, performance). Finally, the book sets forth the first solid analysis of Sokolov's concept of proeziia, not merely a genre nor style of his own invention, but a more significant theoretical reflection of the writer about the role and value of literature, art, creation, and finally beauty.
About the author
Martina Napolitano obtained her PhD in Linguistics and Literary Studies – Slavic Studies at University of Udine, Italy. Her research interests lie primarily in Russian literature of the second half of the 20th century and contemporary Russian poetry, samizdat and tamizdat phenomena, and the connection between poetry and music.
Report
"[An] extremely articulated account of unprecedented thoroughness in the world critical literature. The most innovative aspect is the emphasis on the founding and constitutive role of music and of the scenic dimension, which has so far been scarcely explored. This has led to new and very compelling findings on the author's musical sensitivity and on the relationship between the poetic word and its sound."-Mario Caramitti, University of Rome "La Sapienza" "What exactly do I like about this, shall we say, thing? Almost everything, but especially its structure-you have managed to harmonize so much material in a great way, as if it were a musical composition. I dare say that you could make an exquisite avant-garde film based on this book, full of music of all kinds of genres. Works by Gubaidulina and Schnittke would be very suitable. That is, it would be a musical, a cinematic opera, and my texts would be arias, while yours would make commentaries, and there would be as many counterpoints as you like."-Sasha Sokolov 20210729
