Authors

Discussion

The 20th century saw numerous poets who wrote in Russian leave their homeland and settle in Europe, China, the USA and elsewhere, where they faced the challenge of separation from home, from their language, and from their creative community. Some had the chance to build a new community with other poets in diaspora; even then, with a limited circle of readers and few publishing opportunities, this was no easy matter. Yet the intangible asset of poetic tradition was a way to counter the isolation and fragmentation of diaspora. Writing poems to, or about other poets with whom they felt an affinity, and using quotation or allusion, was a way to assert a sense of belonging that did not rely on physical location. For some, writing in diaspora even provided an opportunity to engage creatively with other traditions beyond the Russophone. 

This paper will explore the varied ways in which poets responded in their texts to the challenge of making a new community, whether by signalling their attachment to fellow diaspora poets, by looking back to the literary tradition of their homeland, or by engaging with poets and traditions encountered in their lives abroad. Being outside Russia did not have to mean being exiled from its poetry, or excluded from other literary cultures, as Nikolai Morshen’s poem ‘Ia svoboden, kak brodiaga’ shows. In his text Morshen combines echoes of ‘Hiawatha’ with quotations from classic Russian poetry; putting down new poetic roots can be compatible with a continued connection to familiar traditions.