MEMORY AND OBLIVION IN CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN PROSE WRITING (POLINA BARSKOVA, EVGENY VODOLAZKIN, MARIA STEPANOVA)

The article analyzes several contemporary Russian literary texts, Living Pictures (2014) by Polina Barskova, Aviator (2016) by Evgeny Vodolazkin, and In Memory of Memory (2017) by Maria Stepanova, in which, on the one hand, writing itself is a form of remembrance (literary creation equates to memory), and, on the other hand, memory establishes and manifests itself by overcoming multifaceted configurations of oblivion. Apart from the fact that all the analyzed texts propose aesthetically and narratologically absorbing conceptualizations of the processes of conversion of elu-siveness and nothingness (oblivion) into a new presence (memory), interpretations of literary works from the point of view of oblivion initiate a different understanding of the literary value of oblivion, which is commonly recognized as an anthropological category which stands as the Other of memory, as its minus ⠎priim (Lotman).& COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This article analyzes several contemporary Russian literary texts that explore the relationship between writing, memory, and oblivion. By examining the works of Polina Barskova, Evgeny Vodolazkin, and Maria Stepanova, the article argues that writing is a form of remembrance and that memory emerges through the overcoming of oblivion. The article also highlights the literary value of oblivion as an anthropological category that complements memory.