read russia journal

The Russian Library @ 25

by Christine Dunbar

Book cover of The SymphoniesThe 2021 publication of Andrei Bely’s The Symphonies, in a translation by Jonathan Stone, has now brought the number of books in Columbia University Press’s Russian Library series to 25. Reviewers have hailed the book for its “otherworldly tales of haunting beauty” and as “a welcome addition to the canon of classic Russian literature in English.”

Jon Stone’s scholarly work on Russian Symbolism is highly regarded in the field, but I was skeptical when he contacted me about a translation of Bely’s “Northern Symphony.” Andrei Bely is a major figure in the Russian literary tradition, and the chapter on him in Vladislav Khodasevich’s Necropolis is one of my favorites. (Necropolis appeared in the Russian Library in 2019 in Sarah Vitali’s sharp and meticulous translation.) Bely is known primarily for his novel Petersburg, and the Russian Library is not a completist project. Our goal is to broaden the variety of Russian literature available to entertain, challenge, and inspire the Anglophone reader.

Continue Reading...