Von der Universalität der Liebe und den ewigen Unwahrheiten der Geschichte. Antikerezeption in den Gedichten von Aleksej Cvetkov

Abstract

Going through what has been written about the reception of antiquity in Russian literature, one detects quite huge unexplored areas. The second half of the 20th century as well as contemporary (i.e. post-Soviet) literature are — with very few exceptions — beyond the scope of research. The article draws attention to the well-known underground and then émigré poet Aleksei Tsvetkov (*1947), who after 2001/2006 saw an exceptional comeback. References to Greek and Roman literature and history are frequent in his oeuvre. In about two dozens of texts these motifs are dominant, three of these poems are analyzed in the article (latyn’, domashnee chtenie, rasskaz ochevidtsa). One of the most important aspects in Tsvetkov’s creative reception of the classics is that his poems are not only occupied with conceptualizing our connection to ancient culture and demonstrating the vitality of at least some literary topics (love, separation) which are able to bridge the temporal and spatial distance. They also deal with controversial aspects of the Greek and Roman legacy, such as the Trojan War, the Thermopylae myth or Alexander’s imperial aspirations. In rasskaz ochevidtsa, Tsvetkov links the fate of Callisthenes, historiographer in the service of Alexander the Great, to the experiences of Stalinism and — referring to Polish literature — the Warsaw uprising in 1944.

Keywords:

Aleksei Tsvekov, ancient legacy in modern Russian poetry