Joseph Brodsky and the Soviet Muse

Research concerning Joseph Brodsky has emphasized two aspects of his work -- his poetry and philosophy as an exile from the Soviet Union. The resulting scholarship has presented him as a fundamentally dissident author with little or no positive connection to the social and literary environments in which he spent more than half his life. In Joseph Brodsky and the Soviet Muse David MacFadyen counters the melodrama surrounding the poet's reputation, repositioning him in the context of Leningrad during the fifties and sixties.MacFadyen focuses on Brodsky's poetic beginnings. Revising the typical, simplistic representation of the young Brodsky and his peers in Western criticism, he demonstrates that Brodsky and his acquaintances absorbed an amazingly wide range of texts, both old and new, and that they read contemporary American, French, German, and Polish literature. Through numerous interviews with Brodsky's contemporaries and vast archival research, MacFadyen offers a vital new slant on Brodsky's early verse, providing the first published translations of these poems and examining Brodsky's work in relation to a broad international spectrum of influences to reveal the art and craft of his poetry. The Future's Back Provides A Valuable Framework For Organizing And Evaluating Research On Superpower Rivalry And Nuclear Deterrence. Arguing That Previous Critiques Of Rational Choice And Deterrence Theory Are Unconvincing, Frank Harvey Constructs A New Set Of Empirical Tests Of Rational Deterrence Theory To Illuminate Patterns Of Interaction Between Rival Nuclear Powers. He Analyses The Crisis Management Techniques Used By The United States And The Soviet Union In Twenty-eight Post-war Crises And Isolates Factors That Promote Or Inhibit Escalation Of These Crises. This Crises--based Data Set Serves As A Basis For Identifying Patterns Of Response When One Nuclear State Is Threatened By Another. The Future's Back Offers New Directions For Testing That Emphasize A More Unified Approach To Theory Building And Assesses The Feasibility Of Alternative Courses Of Action To Prevent Escalation Of Future Disputes Characterized By Nuclear Rivalry. 1. Cumulation In International Relations: Methodological Constraints And Solutions -- 2. Nuclear Deterrence: The Record Of Aggregate Testing -- 3. New Directions For Aggregate Testing -- 4. Game Theory And Superpower Rivalry, 1948-88 -- 5. U.s.-soviet Rivalry And Nuclear Deterrence -- 6. Nuclear Stability After The Cold War -- 7. Conventional Deterrence And Compellence Theory: Perspectives On Testing After The Cold War. Frank P. Harvey. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [171]-188) And Index. "MacFadyen focuses on Brodsky's poetic beginnings. Revising the typical, simplistic representation of the young Brodsky and his peers in Western criticism, he demonstrates that Brodsky and his acquaintances absorbed an amazingly wide range of texts, both old and new, and that they read contemporary American, French, German and Polish literature. Through numerous interviews with Brodsky's contemporaries and vast archival research, MacFadyen offers a vital new slant on Brodsky's early verse, providing the first published translations of these poems, examining his work in relation to a broad international spectrum of influences and revealing the art and craft of his poetry." "Joseph Brodsky and the Soviet Muse will appeal not only to those interested in Brodsky and the cultural influences that shaped his work and literature of the time but to those intrigued with Russian history and culture."--Résumé de l'éditeur "MacFadyen focuses on Brodsky's poetic beginnings. Revising the typical, simplistic representation of the young Brodsky and his peers in Western criticism, he demonstrates that Brodsky and his acquaintances absorbed an amazingly wide range of texts, both old and new, and that they read contemporary American, French, German and Polish literature. Through numerous interviews with Brodsky's contemporaries and vast archival research, MacFadyen offers a vital new slant on Brodsky's early verse, providing the first published translations of these poems, examining his work in relation to a broad international spectrum of influences and revealing the art and craft of his poetry.". "Joseph Brodsky and the Soviet Muse will appeal not only to those interested in Brodsky and the cultural influences that shaped his work and literature of the time but to those intrigued with Russian history and culture."--BOOK JACKET. MacFadyen focuses on Brodsky's poetic beginnings. Revising the typical, simplistic representation of the young Brodsky and his peers in Western criticism, he demonstrates that Brodsky and his acquaintances absorbed an amazingly wide range of texts, both old and new, and that they read contemporary American, French, German, and Polish literature. Through numerous interviews with Brodsky's contemporaries and vast archival research, MacFadyen offers a vital new slant on Brodsky's early verse, providing the first published translations of these poems and examining Brodsky's work in relation to a broad international spectrum of influences to reveal the art and craft of his poetry. Joseph Brodsky and the Soviet Muse will appeal not only to those interested in Brodsky and the cultural influences that shaped his work and literature of the time but to those intrigued with Russian history and culture. Half-title Title page Copyright page Contents Introduction 1 Before Juliet: Jazz and Related Rhythms in Leningrad 2 After Dorrit: Joyce, Dos Passos, Hemingway, and Others 3 Stealing what Matters: Robert Frost and Boris Sluckij 4 Romanticism and Rebellion: Bagrickij and Galczynski 5 Children’s Poetry: Beethoven Discovers America 6 Boris Pasternak and a Polish Muse 7 Marina Cvetaeva and a Czech Muse 8 New Stanzas to Augusta and Byron Coda: “He Reminds Me of John Donne”: Gavrila Derzavin Appendix: Meter and Rhythm in Brodsky’s Leningrad Poetry References Index