The Oak and the Calf, subtitled Sketches of Literary Life in the Soviet Union, is a memoir by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, about his attempts to publish work in his own country. Solzhenitsyn began writing the memoir in April 1967, when he was 48 years old, and added supplements in 1971, 1973, and 1974. The work was first published in Russian in 1975[1] under the title Бодался телёнок с дубом (lit. "A Calf Head-butting with an Oak", an ironic phrase). It has been translated into English by Harry Willetts.[2]
Front cover of the Harper Colophon English translation.
A second, considerably expanded edition of the Russian text was produced in 1996, by the Moscow publishing house Soglasie. This edition includes new material on the people who helped Solzhenitsyn in his literary tasks before his exile. The writer had previously called these anonymous helpers Nevidimki (the invisible ones).[3] The new material has been translated and published in English as a separate book called Invisible Allies.[4]
The memoir contains a detailed account of the publication of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and the author's often complex relationship with the editor-in-chief Aleksandr Tvardovsky.[5] It also describes Solzhenitsyn's failed attempts to publish his other early novels, Cancer Ward and The First Circle, the political storm caused by his 1970 Nobel Prize for literature and his subsequent exile from the Soviet Union.
Among Solzhenitsyn's more accessible works, the memoir's reception by critics was mixed. By the time of its publication, outside the Soviet Union much has already been known about the author's struggles.[6][7] Consequently, some critics questioned the accuracy of Solzhenitsyn's account.[8] Nevertheless, the book remains an essential source on the life and times of the author.
Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918 in Kislovodsk following the death of his father.[9] In 1921, his mother moved to Rostov-on-Don[10] and Solzhenitsyn joined her there in 1926.[11] He attended school and studied physics and mathematics at Rostov State University.[12] At the same time, he studied literature and history by correspondence courses run by the Moscow University Institute of Philosophy. He began to write at this time and spent the first three months of 1937 intensively studying in the Rostov libraries,[13]
During World War II, Solzhenitsyn served as the commander of a sound-ranging battery in the Red Army[14] and was involved in major action at the front, for which he was twice-decorated. In 1945, he was arrested for criticizing Joseph Stalin's conduct of the war in letters to a friend. He was sentenced to eight years in the Gulag. He was released in 1953[15] and pardoned in 1957.
In 1961, he sent the manuscript of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich to Alexander Tvardovsky, poet and chief editor of Novy Mir (Новый Мир - "New World") literary magazine. It was published in edited form in 1962 with the explicit approval of Nikita Khrushchev.[18] Following Khrushchev's fall from power, the political climate in the Soviet Union hardened and the "thaw" in literary censorship ended under Leonid Brezhnev.[19]
In 1963, Solzhenitsyn published three more novellas, the last of his works to be published in the Soviet Union until 1990. The Oak and the Calf covers the period from the publication of One Day to Solzhenitsyn's expulsion from the Soviet Union in 1974.
Referencesedit
^Солженицын, Александр Исаевич, Бодался телёнок с дубом. Очерки литературной жизни, YMCA-PRESS, Paris, 1975
^Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Oak and the Calf—Sketches of literary life in the Soviet Union, Translated from Russian by Harry Willets, Harper Colophon Books, 1981, ISBN0-06-090869-6
^Klimoff A., (editor) One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich—A critical companion, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, Illinois, 1997, p. 120, ISBN0-8101-1214-0
^Solzhenitsyn A., Invisible Allies, translated from Russian by Alexis Klimoff and Michael Nicholson, The Harvill Press, London, 1997, ISBN1-86046-259-6
calf, subtitled, sketches, literary, life, soviet, union, memoir, russian, writer, aleksandr, solzhenitsyn, about, attempts, publish, work, country, solzhenitsyn, began, writing, memoir, april, 1967, when, years, added, supplements, 1971, 1973, 1974, work, fir. The Oak and the Calf subtitled Sketches of Literary Life in the Soviet Union is a memoir by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn about his attempts to publish work in his own country Solzhenitsyn began writing the memoir in April 1967 when he was 48 years old and added supplements in 1971 1973 and 1974 The work was first published in Russian in 1975 1 under the title Bodalsya telyonok s dubom lit A Calf Head butting with an Oak an ironic phrase It has been translated into English by Harry Willetts 2 Front cover of the Harper Colophon English translation A second considerably expanded edition of the Russian text was produced in 1996 by the Moscow publishing house Soglasie This edition includes new material on the people who helped Solzhenitsyn in his literary tasks before his exile The writer had previously called these anonymous helpers Nevidimki the invisible ones 3 The new material has been translated and published in English as a separate book called Invisible Allies 4 The memoir contains a detailed account of the publication of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and the author s often complex relationship with the editor in chief Aleksandr Tvardovsky 5 It also describes Solzhenitsyn s failed attempts to publish his other early novels Cancer Ward and The First Circle the political storm caused by his 1970 Nobel Prize for literature and his subsequent exile from the Soviet Union Among Solzhenitsyn s more accessible works the memoir s reception by critics was mixed By the time of its publication outside the Soviet Union much has already been known about the author s struggles 6 7 Consequently some critics questioned the accuracy of Solzhenitsyn s account 8 Nevertheless the book remains an essential source on the life and times of the author Background editMain article Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918 in Kislovodsk following the death of his father 9 In 1921 his mother moved to Rostov on Don 10 and Solzhenitsyn joined her there in 1926 11 He attended school and studied physics and mathematics at Rostov State University 12 At the same time he studied literature and history by correspondence courses run by the Moscow University Institute of Philosophy He began to write at this time and spent the first three months of 1937 intensively studying in the Rostov libraries 13 During World War II Solzhenitsyn served as the commander of a sound ranging battery in the Red Army 14 and was involved in major action at the front for which he was twice decorated In 1945 he was arrested for criticizing Joseph Stalin s conduct of the war in letters to a friend He was sentenced to eight years in the Gulag He was released in 1953 15 and pardoned in 1957 He later moved to Ryazan near Moscow to work as a mathematics teacher 16 There he wrote his early novels and novellas One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The First Circle based on his time in the Gulag and Matryona s Place and Cancer Ward based on his experiences in internal exile in rural Russia and Tashkent between 1953 and 1957 17 In 1961 he sent the manuscript of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich to Alexander Tvardovsky poet and chief editor of Novy Mir Novyj Mir New World literary magazine It was published in edited form in 1962 with the explicit approval of Nikita Khrushchev 18 Following Khrushchev s fall from power the political climate in the Soviet Union hardened and the thaw in literary censorship ended under Leonid Brezhnev 19 In 1963 Solzhenitsyn published three more novellas the last of his works to be published in the Soviet Union until 1990 The Oak and the Calfcovers the period from the publication of One Day to Solzhenitsyn s expulsion from the Soviet Union in 1974 References edit Solzhenicyn Aleksandr Isaevich Bodalsya telyonok s dubom Ocherki literaturnoj zhizni YMCA PRESS Paris 1975 Aleksandr I Solzhenitsyn The Oak and the Calf Sketches of literary life in the Soviet Union Translated from Russian by Harry Willets Harper Colophon Books 1981 ISBN 0 06 090869 6 Klimoff A editor One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich A critical companion Northwestern University Press Evanston Illinois 1997 p 120 ISBN 0 8101 1214 0 Solzhenitsyn A Invisible Allies translated from Russian by Alexis Klimoff and Michael Nicholson The Harvill Press London 1997 ISBN 1 86046 259 6 Willets translation pp 48 49 Labedz L editor Solzhenitsyn A Documentary record Penguin Books 1970 ISBN 0 14 003395 5 Bjorkegren H Biography of Aleksandr SolzhenitsynAidan Ellis England 1972 ISBN 0 85628 005 4 Scammell M Solzhenitisyn A Biography Paladin Books 1986 pp 926 930 ISBN 0 586 08538 6 Sammell p 25 Scammell p 47 Scammell p 62 Scammell p 85 Scammell p 84 Scammell p 119 Scammell p 312 313 His sentence officially ended on 9 February 1953 Scammell p 372 Scammell Chapter 21 Scammell Chapter 23 Scammell p 636 and 639 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Oak and the Calf amp oldid 1211547850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
