Issue:

№13 2022

УДК / UDK: 821.111.0
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2022-13-383-399

EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/SCXMJK

Author: Andrey F. Kofman
About the author:

Andrey F. Kofman, Doctor Hab. in Philology, Deputy Director and Head of the Department of Modern European and American literature, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya 25 a, 121069 Moscow, Russia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3799-9343

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

Abstract:

The article is a tribute to the famous scholar Lev Samoilovich Ospovat, who together with his wife Vera N. Kuteishchikova, paved the way for the Latin American literary studies in the USSR. Lev Samoilovich started with his studies of Pablo Neruda’s life and work; he was the first to write and publish a book in Russian on the Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda: A Survey of His Work (1960). A year later on the basis of this book, he defended his PhD dissertation. Subsequently, its author, critically reflecting on his experience, admitted that he often followed some officially imposed stereotypes in the interpretation of Neruda’s work and evolution. At the same time, even in this book one clearly sees an attempt to overcome the stereotypes, especially with regard to the attribution of Neruda's poetry to the method of socialist realism, and to understand the poetic world of the Chilean poet not only in connection with his political activities. L.S. Ospovat became widely known as the author of two books from the series “Life of Outstanding People” — Federico Garcia Lorca and Diego Rivera and a number of brilliant articles and prefaces. The result of Lev Ospovat’s Latin American studies was the book New Latin American Novel he co-authored with his wife; the book retains its value up to nowadays. At the end of his life Ospovat became interested in Pushkin studies and published several articles containing interesting discoveries in this area. The article is accompanied by fragments from Lev Ospovat’s memoirs that of L.S. Ospovat, which allows the reader to get an idea of the kind, highly intelligent, honest and very attractive person.

Keywords: Lev Ospovat, Vera Kuteyshikova, Pablo Neruda, Federico García Lorca, Diego Rivera, new Latin American novel.
For citation:

Kofman, Andrey. “At the Origins of Russian Latin American Studies. Lev Samoilovich Ospovat — on the Centenary of His Birth.” Literature of the Americas, no. 13 (2022): 383–399. https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2022-13-383-399.

References:

Kofman 2020 — Kofman, Andrey. “Matriarkha rossiiskoi latinoamerikanistiki” [“Matriarch of Latin American Studies in Russia”]. Literatura dvukh Amerik, no. 9 (2020): 283–307. https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2020-9-283-307 (In Russ.)

Kuteishchikova, Ospovat 1983 — Kuteishchikova, Vera N., Ospovat, Lev S. Novyi latinoamerikanskii roman: 50–70-e gody [New Latin American Novel, 1950–70-ies]. Moscow: Sovetskii pisatel' Publ., 1983. (In Russ.)

Ospovat 1993 — Ospovat, Lev S. “Dobro pozhalovat' v lavku chudes” [“Welcome to the Miracle Shop”]. In Amado, J. Sobraniie sochinenii: v 6 t. [Collected Works: In 6 vols.], vol. 1. St. Petersburg: Nevskaia reklamno-izdatel'skaia kampaniia Publ., 1993: 5–12. (In Russ.)

Ospovat 1960 — Ospovat, Lev S. “Nikolas Gil'en i narodnaia pesnia” [“Nicolas Guillen and the Folk Song”]. Voprosy literatury, no. 12 (1960): 166–184. (In Russ.)

Ospovat 1973 — Ospovat, Lev S. “Tragicheskaia garmoniia Federiko Garsia Lorki” [“Federico Garcia Lorca’s Tragic Harmony”]. Voprosy literatury, no. 7 (1973): 184–204. (In Russ.)

Ospovat 1965 — Ospovat, Lev S. Federico Garcia Lorka. Moscow: Molodaia gvardiia Publ., 1965. (In Russ.)

Ospovat 1981 — Ospovat, Lev S. “Chelovek beskonechen: o tvorcheskoi evoliutsii Pablo Nerudy” [“The Man Is Endless: Pablo Neruda’s Artistic Evolution”]. Voprosy literatury, no. 12 (1981): 80–121. (In Russ.)