D.E. Martynov
Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia
E-mail: dmitrymartynov80@mail.ru
Received June 8, 2020
DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.5.281-292
For citation: Martynov D.E. The worlds of limited-edition books (Arthur Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Wojciech Kajtoch, Stanisław Lem). Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2020, vol. 162, no. 5, pp. 281–292. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.5.281-292. (In Russian)
Abstract
This paper reviews four books, all dedicated to the study of the science fiction genre and the biography of science-fiction writers. They were published in Russian in an extremely limited number. These books include a collection of articles by Wojciech Kaitoch, biographies of Arthur Clarke and Robert Heinlein written by Neil Mcaleer and William H. Patterson, respectively, as well as a biography of Stanisław Lem compiled by his son Tomasz. The authors of all biographies come from fundamentally important circumstances in the lives of the writers. The main approach to exploring the biographies under consideration is annual chronicle, which allows getting involved in the most diverse materials. For American biographers, a very important part of the biography is also sexual orientation and preferences. On the contrary, the Polish literary critic W. Kaitoch uses the modern methods in his literary research and turns towards the biographical approach only when there is no way to otherwise explain the features of the analyzed text. W. Kaitoch is skeptical of the idea about any possibility of revealing the author’s intention. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that, under the conditions of media sphere dominance, specialized limited-edition publications in the field of the humanities are of interest to an extremely small number of specialists and literary fans.
Keywords: biography, writer’s craft, Wojciech Kaitoch, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Stanisław Lem, Tomasz Lem, Robert Heinlein, Arthur Clarke
References
- Rozanov V.V. Fallen leaves, basket second. In: Uedinennoe [The Secluded]. Moscow, Politizdat, 1990. 543 p. (In Russian)
- Kajtoch W. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. In: Strugatsky A.N., Strugatsky B.N. Bessil’nye mira sego [The Powerless that Be]. Moscow, AST, 2007, pp. 409–670. (In Russian)
- Prashkevich G.M., Borisov V.I. Stanislav Lem [Stanisław Lem]. Moscow, Molodaya Gvardiya, 2015. 359 p. (In Russian)
- Gakov V. A glory hour of film fiction. In: Geya: Al’manakh nauch. fantastiki [Gaea: An Almanac of Science Fiction]. Moscow, Mysl’, 1990, pp. 68–97. (In Russian)
- Lukashin A.P. Historical and literary reference. In: Belyaev A. Izobreteniya professora Vagnera [The Inventions of Professor Wagner]. Perm, Permsk. Kn. Izd., 1988, pp. 406–414. (In Russian)
- Balabukha A. Admiral of the starseas. Heinlein R. Dver’ v leto [The Door into Summer]. Leningrad, Lenizdat, 1991, pp. 5–14. (In Russian)
- Balabukha A. Robert A. Heinlein: A portrait from a bird’s eye view. In: Heinlein R. Pasynki Vselennoi. Zvezdnyi desant [Orphans of the Sky. Starship Troopers]. Moscow, Eksmo; St. Petersburg, Terra Fantastica, 2003, pp. 449–483. (In Russian)
- Virginia Edition: The Complete Works of Robert A. Heinlein. Available at: https:// www.heinleinbooks.com/about.
- Martynov D.E. Two models of the American utopia (based on the works by E. Bellamy and R. Heinlein). Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2016, vol. 158, no. 1, pp. 244–255. (In Russian)
- Kurkiewicz J. Tomasz Lem. „Awantury na tle powszechnego ciążenia”. Dwutygodnik. 2009, sierpień. Available at: https://www.dwutygodnik.com/artykul/420-lem-slodko-gorzki.html. (In Polish)
- Jaznevic V.I. Stanislav Lem [Stanisław Lem]. Minsk, Kn. Dom, 2014. 448 p. (In Russian)
- The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology. Bagnall R. (Ed.). Oxford, New York, Oxford Univ. Press, 2011. 712 p.
The content is available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.