Information about the author:
Elena V. Antonova
Elena V. Antonova, PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, А.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya 25 a, 121069 Moscow, Russia.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3659-8994
E-mail:
Abstract:
The article is devoted to clarifying the circumstances of the preparation and publication of Platonov’s books in the second half of the 1930s by the publishing houses “Sovetsky Pisatel” and “Goslitizdat.” Special attention is paid to the situation that developed in the first half of 1937 at the publishing house “Sovetsky Pisatel,” which led to the resignation of its then head, G. Lazar-Zabolotny. The article also provides information about the persons who later led the publishing house (L. Shechtmeister, J. Rudy), with whom Platonov signed contracts for the publication of his critical works. The article analyzes the situation with the release of paper for the publication of fiction in 1937–1940. As an illustration of the situation with the paper in early 1940, evidence from the diary of the writer I. Evdokimov is given. The role of the critic E. Usievich in the preparation of Platonov’s books for publication in both “Sovetsky Pisatel” and “Goslitizdat” is particularly highlighted. In conclusion, the article presents documents that expand our understanding of Platonov’s connections with the editors of the “Literary Critic” magazine in 1940.
