The "Absence" of Family in 19th-Century Irish Presbyterian Clerical Biographies

Spanning from Augustine to present time - the articles in this volume present methodological aspects on biographical work in different genres and from different angles. The difficulties in biographical research and writing are discussed, as well as the results and contextual settings of old and new biographies, and the new, critical reading of biographies in our time. The 22 articles on biographical material from Finland to South Africa, and from Ireland to Lithuania, with some concentration on Sweden, is the result of the work of researchers active in the Commission International d'Histoire et d'Etudes du Christianism (CIHEC), at the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, and other invited researchers, representing research areas such as general history, history of literature, and Slavic studies. The articles discuss biographies on medieval saints, 20thc popes, a Russian patriarch, the Presbyterian clergy, Saami narratives, and the Holocaust theme. The common theme is the relevance of spiritual and ecclesiastical biographies to Church history in a wider sense, varying in time and confession

The History of Literature and its Ethnopoetics: Realization of a Large Scale Project

В контексте идей этнопоэтики анализируется исследование «Литература Урала XIV–XVIII вв.» (М., 2012), выполненное группой ученых. Подчеркивается новаторский характер коллективной монографии, в процессе создания которой были открыты новые литературные источники, собраны сведения о рукописных коллекциях и библиотеках частных лиц, выявлены факторы возникновения и развития региональной литературы. По мнению автора, вниманию читателей предложена интересная концепция многонациональной литературы Урала, обрисована система «культурных гнезд», в которых важное место занимала литература и книжность. Существенным достижением стало обращение к творческим судьбам создателей артефактов, выполненное с привлечением новых материалов. Это первое исследование подобного рода, где устанавливается взаимосвязь истории освоения российского пространства на востоке и неповторимость литературного творчества региона.The review analyzes, in the context of ethnopoetics, A History of Ural Literature. Late 14th – 18th Centuries, co-authored by a number of scholars. The author points out the innovative character of the publication which covers newly discovered literary sources, summarizes the information about the collections of manuscripts and private libraries, and explores the factors of the emergence and development of a regional literature. The book under consideration provides an interesting concept of the multinational literature of the Urals, and outlines a system of cultural centres in which literature and book-learning played a significant role. Among the considerable achievements of the research in question is the reporting of the artistic biographies of writers, some relying on new materials. This is the first research of the kind establishing correlations between the history of the exploration of the Russian East and the unique nature of the literary works of the region

Lesbian Love Sonnets: Adrienne Rich and Carol Ann Duffy

Our conceptualization of sexuality is rooted in gender. Modern, western society defines sexuality as which genders one is and is not attracted to—often appearing as a binary between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Recently, however, queer theorists have begun to push against the idea of binary sexuality altogether. The interplay between gender and sexuality additionally manifests in the history of literature. Because the two are so intimately intertwined, writing about sexuality necessitates writing about gender. Twenty-One Love Poems by Adrienne Rich and Rapture by Carol Ann Duffy are two poetry collections where, as lesbian poets, gender and sexuality play an important role. Both Twenty-One Love Poems and Rapture draw on the tradition of sonnet sequences, a tradition defined by strict structure and gendered power dynamics. As lesbians with female speaker-poets writing about other women, Rich and Duffy both include and subvert themes and tropes, highlighted by their playing with the prescribed structure. Viewing the collections through the lens of sonnet sequences provides an intriguing perspective for examining the depiction of gender and, by extension, sexuality

The Placement of Lucian’s Novel True History in the Genre of Science Fiction

Among the works of the ancient Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata, well-known for his scathing and obscene irony, there is the novel True History. In this work Lucian, being in an intense satirical mood, intended to undermine the values of the classical world. Through a continuous parade of wonderful events, beings and situations as a substitute for the realistic approach to reality, he parodies the scientific knowledge, creating a literary model for the subsequent writers. Without doubt, nowadays, Lucian’s large influence on the history of literature has been highlighted. What is missing is pointing out the specific characteristics that would lead to the placement of True History at the starting point of Science Fiction. We are going to highlight two of these features: first, the operation of “cognitive estrangement”, which aims at providing the reader with the perception of the difference between the convention and the truth, and second, the use of strange innovations (“novum”) that verify the value of Lucian’s work by connecting it to historicity

Un bordado mágico: entre vida, historia y fantasía. Elena Garro y «la culpa es de los tlaxcaltecas».

This paper highlights the importance of Elena Garro to Mexican literature in particular and literature in spanish language in general, and also the reasons why a critical study of his work is needed that inserts this writter with justice within the history of literature written in spanish, all this through the study of La culpa es de los Talxcaltecas

Рецепція прози Лесі Українки у вітчизняному і зарубіжному літературознавстві

Досліджується еволюція рецепції прозової творчості Лесі Українки вітчизняною і зарубіжною критикою та літературознавством у хронологічному аспекті: з 90-х років ХIХ століття донині.The author investigated the evolution of reception of Lesya Ukrainka’s prosaic artistic work by national and foreign criticism and the history of literature scence in a chronologic aspect: from 90th years of the ХХth century and to the present day

Literary portraits of Nicolaus Copernicus for the young

The Year of Nicolaus Copernicus provides an excellent opportunity to reach out not only to contemporary, but also to slightly older and forgotten works intended for young readers that introduce the figure of the famous astronomer. Reading these works is an interesting form of journey through Copernicus’ biography, Polish and European history, and history of literature