Joseph Brodsky and Varlam Shalamov: Intertextual Convergences

Abstract

The subject of the article is the intertextual connections between the literary texts of V. Shalamov and J. Brodsky. The paper analyzes scientific researches on the relationships of both writers, substantiates the likelihood of Brodsky’s actual acquaintance with Shalamov’s work. The aim of the article is to prove that the overlap between the various texts of Shalamov and Brodsky is not a random coincidence. It was established that three of Brodsky’s poems “Osenniy krik yastreba,” “Predstavleniye” and “Tikhotvoreniye moye, moye nemoye…” contain references to previously written poems by Shalamov. There were drawn several assumptions about the type of coordination between the artistic worlds of Brodsky and Shalamov. Brodsky refers to the legacy of Shalamov when broadcasting the substantive characteristics of the external and internal world that are fundamentally important for him. At the same time, Shalamov’s texts for Brodsky are only a small part of the national poetic tradition accumulated by him. Brodsky uses Shalamov’s poetic voice to emphasize awareness and continuity and to contrast his aesthetic position on the basis of this unity.