Authors

Discussion

This paper examines how the theroy of Literature of Fact, the unique documentary literature that poet, playwright, and reportage writer Sergei Tretiakov created with the members of LEF group in the 1920s, is reflected in his creative work. 

As Devin Fore showed in his paper "The Operative Word in Soviet Factography," the literature of Productivism that LEF members have sought to produce since the early 1920s ultimately took the form of a Literature of Fact. The theory of Literature of Fact was gradually formed through discussions among members in the journal Novij LEF. Tretiakov led this discussion. The basic idea of Literature of Fact, which seeks to transcend traditional realist fiction through literature modeled on newspapers, stems from Tretiakov's background in journalism.

While Tretiakov worked to develop a theory of Literature of Fact, he also wrote reportage on his experiences in China, such as Chzungo (1927) and Den Shi-Khua (1927-1934). Maria Zalambani considers the latter, which appeared in part in Novij LEF, to be an example of Literature of Fact. Indeed, these reportages are a good source for considering what Tretiakov considers to be the Literature of Fact. The question of why Tretiakov chose the travelogue genre of his sojourn in China to practice Literature of Fact provides a clue to understanding the position of elements such as "material" and "device" in this documentary literary theory. Tretiakov also wrote a poem and a play set in China, Roar, China! However, he considers the Literature of Fact to be a theory for prose, and in other artistic genres, such as theater and film, he tries to portray China through fiction.

A cross-genre analysis of Tretiakov's creative activities in the 1920s, focusing on reportage, will reveal how he used "fact" and "fiction" in different ways.