POSTMODERN POETICS OF M. ATWOOD’S NOVEL “PENELOPIADА”

Margaret Atwood is one of the most famous modern English-language writers. She has won numerous literary awards, including the Booker Prize twice. Her novel “Penelopiada” (2005) did not attract the attention of researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this article is a detailed analysis of the main features of the poetics of the novel as a model of postmodern prose. The source of inspiration for the writer were the ancient myths and heroic poems “Iliada” and “Odyssey” by Homer. In ancient texts, Penelope is a minor heroine. She was the wife of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, who fought for ten years under the walls of Troy, and then travelled for another ten years. And all this time his wife has been waiting for him, so Penelope is a symbol of marital fidelity and patience. Canadian author Margaret Atwood rethinks this image. Without disturbing the plot of the ancient epic, she psychologically motivates the actions of Penelope, shows the image of a lonely strong woman who is trying to survive in a cruel male world. This text reflects the feminist views of the author. The article focuses on aspects of intertextuality, allusions, and creative dialogue with prototexts. The figurative structure of the novel, the semantic overemphasis of the images of Odysseus, Penelope and Elena, who fled to Troy, are analysed. The events of the Trojan War are considered from the point of view of a woman who was not directly affected by the hostilities, but whose life changed radically. Genre-compositional features of the novel are revealed. The originality of the narrative in the novel is clarified: the story is told on behalf of Penelope, which adds psychological credibility to the image. The article also notes the techniques of irony, parody, which represent the text as a model of postmodernism.

Srpski pisci i djela u ogledima Jovana Radulovića

The paper deals with Jovan Radulović’s (1951‒2010) essays, dedicated to selected Serbian writers and to some important individuals from the Serbian past, mostly from Dalmatia, Radulović’s homeland. The focus is put on the texts about Stojan Janković (Mitrović), Gerasim Zelić, Simo Matavulj, Sava Bjelanović, Mirko Korolija, Marija Ilić- Agapova, Vladan Desnica, which were mostly written as prefaces for editions of their works or given as speeches on the occasion of certain anniversaries, as well as on the occa- sion of prestigious literary awards ceremonies (“Bora Stanković”, “Petar Kočić”, “Branko Ćopić”, “Golden Sunflower” awards). The analyzed texts reveal deep poetic connections of Radulović’s work with the ones of the writers in question, as well as his ability to, us- ing short forms, such as essays, highlight the essential artistic and poetic characteristics of their works.

Queer Trauma in Caitlín R. Kiernan’s The Red Tree

Despite winning numerous literary awards, Caitlín R. Kiernan’s work has received little critical attention. Scholars have focused on Kiernan’s reworking of H. P. Lovecraft’s influential weird fiction and have discussed Kiernan’s pioneering work in New Weird fiction and short fiction. As astute as much of the critical work is, none of it addresses the cornerstone of Kiernan’s fiction: trauma. This essay considers Kiernan’s novel The Red Tree as a queer American gothic novel dealing with trauma and its lingering effects on its witnesses. Through its complex, fragmentary form and its use of dream sequences and unconsciously produced narratives, the novel invites readers to witness and consume Sarah Crowe’s trauma while loosely theorizing the relationship between trauma and queer temporality and spatiality.

“I have read your novel and understood nothing, but I was so impressed!”

Mikhail Shishkin is a writer, author of the novels “One Night Befalls Us All”, “The Taking of Izmail”, “Maidenhair”, “The Light and the Dark”, as well as novellas, short stories, essays, and the guide “Russian Switzerland”. Winner of the literary awards “Russian Booker Prize” (2000), “Russian National Bestseller” (2005) and “Big Book Prize” (2011). He writes in Russian and German. In this issue of P&I, Mikhail Shishkin recalls the “War and Peace” as a cure, chooses the main film about contemporary Russia and tells what every father should teach his son. Interview by Ekaterina Maksimova.

ss ieskats Astrīdas Lindgrēnes piemiņas balvas (ALMA) specifikā un bērnu literatūras apbalvošanas fenomenā. ALMA Latvijas grāmatizdošanas kontekstā

Historically, children’s literature awards have been established both to improve the quality of children’s literature and to promote the market for children’s books. Today, an international prize for literature can be seen as a socio-political game with the aim of disseminating specific values and sharing various ideas that seem relevant to a society. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the most generous children’s literature award in monetary terms – and, at the same time, one of the largest literary awards. The study examines the details and choices of ALMA nomination, provides a brief insight into the problems of the awarding phenomenon, as well as considers ALMA in the context of Latvian book publishing.

History in Contemporary Lithuanian Literature

The purpose of this article is to show the evolution of the historical novel that began in the era of independence, to highlight the peculiarities of male and female historical narratives, and to capture critical reactions and tendencies of assessment of that kind of novel. At the beginning of independence, the poetic prose of a minimal story was established in Lithuanian literature, which was created by the most prominent Lithuanian prose writers, and the historical novel made its debut as a complex experience of poetic narration. Poetry and prose focused on archetypal narratives, national consciousness and ethnic semantics and were characterized by an abundance of associations, but not by a clear storyline. Among common variations of the male historical novel, we can observe historical novels written by women, which have won both literary awards and readers’ approval.

BILDERBOKEN: A BRIEF STORY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SWEDISH PICTURE BOOKS

This article addresses a brief journey throughout the picturebook in Sweden, which starts with a definition of picture books and their characteristics according to different professionals. Some of them have developed their research activity in the Nordic countries, such as Ulla Rhedin or Maria Nikolajeva. Next, an introduction to the research of this material in Sweden has been developed chronologically followed by a brief story of Swedish picture books. Then, after the study of different works published by researchers and associations, and after the reading of numerous Swedish picture books, the peculiarities of Swedish picture books will be explained, followed by examples of books, authors, and illustrators. Furthermore, different associations and institutions that encourage and promote children’s literature in Sweden will be mentioned, accompanied by their functions, which can include the preparation of different activities, the organization of literary awards, or the participation in congresses and conferences.