First Words (ENG): On Dostoevsky's Introductions (The Unknown Nineteenth Century) - Hardcover

Bagby, Lewis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1618114824 ISBN 13: 9781618114822

Publisher: Academic Studies Press, 2015

Synopsis

Dostoevsky attached introductions to his most challenging narratives, including Notes from the House of the Dead, Notes from Underground, The Devils, The Brothers Karamazov, and “A Gentle Creature.” Despite his clever attempts to call his readers’ attention to these introductions, they have been neglected as an object of study for over 150 years. That oversight is rectified in First Words, the first systematic study of Dostoevsky’s introductions. Using Genette’s typology of prefaces and Bakhtin’s notion of multiple voices, Lewis Bagby reveals just how important Dostoevsky’s first words are to his fiction. Dostoevsky’s ruses, verbal winks, and backward glances indicate a lively and imaginative author at earnest play in the field of literary discourse.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This study examines a previously unexplored topic in Russian literary studies. Dostoevsky's use of introductions in his fiction. Dostoevsky put forewords to work only in his post-exile period, for example, in "Notes from the House of the Dead," "Notes from the Underground," "The Possessed," and "The Brothers Karamazov." By studiously avoiding the same label for his prefaces from one work to the next, Dostoevsky signaled to his readers that they should attend to his introductory remarks. Even when he affixed his signature to a foreword, Dostoevsky did not use his own voice when addressing his audience. His ruses, verbal winks, and backward glances indicate an author in full command of his medium, often to great comic effect.

About the Author

Lewis Bagby is Professor Emeritus of Russian, University of Wyoming. He began histeaching career at the University of Wyoming in 1970 as an instructor ofRussian language and literature. He taught courses from first to fourth yearRussian, courses on 19th  and20th century Russian literature, and special topics courses onindividual Russian authors, periods, and themes. From1989-92 he served as chairof the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, and from 1995 to 2006 wasthe director of international programs for the university. 
Dr. Bagby most recentpublication is First Words: OnDostoevsky's Introductions (Academic Studies Press, 2016)).  He is the author of Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky and Russian Byronism (ThePennsylvania State University Press, 1995), which was translated and publishedin St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg: Akademicheskii proekt, 2001 and 2011). He isthe translator of one of Bestuzhev-Marlinsky's most popular society tales, The Test, which is a critical responseto Pushkin's Eugene Onegin (Russian Romantic Prose, TranslationPress, 1979). He also edited A Hero ofOur Time: A Critical Companion (Northwestern University Press/AATSEEL,2002). His "Agency, Desire and Fate in PoorFolk" forms the first chapter of Before They Were Titans: Essays on the EarlyWorks of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy edited by Elizabeth Cheresh Allen (AcademicStudies Press, 2015).
 
In 1984 he was therecipient of the John Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching award, in 1994both the Mortar Board's and the African American Student Association'srecognition for "contributions to the University of Wyoming and service tostudents," in 1998 an honorary doctorate from Saratov State University, and in2013 the "College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Former Faculty Member."

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Studies Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1618114824
• ISBN 13: 9781618114822
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 222