“... I Will Be Very Demanding of You”: Letters from Dmitry Filosofov to Korney Chukovsky (1908–1919)

About the authors:

Svetlana V. Fedotova, DSc in Philology, Associate Professor, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya 25 а, 121069 Moscow, Russia.

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9991-4966 

Alexander L. Sobolev, independent researcher, Russia.

Abstract:

The publication presents 22 letters from D.V. Filosofov to K.I. Chukovsky, which are of great importance for the reconstruction of their literary and personal connections during the entire period of their acquaintance (1908–1919). The letters supplement the epistolary complex of D.S. Merezhkovsky and Z.N. Gippius, addressed to the same correspondent, and fill his chronological lacunae. In addition, they contain rich material for revealing the originality of the little-studied literary-critical activity of Filosofov — on the example of his assessments of the work of the young critic-satirist (both in private correspondence and in periodicals). By and large, it is from the responses of Filosofov that one can trace the formation of Chukovsky’s literary reputation, which is important for considering the typology of newspaper and magazine criticism in pre-revolutionary times as a whole.