Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics
by Mikhail Bakhtin
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This book is the ideal introduction to the thought of Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin is becoming established as one of the giants of 20th century literary criticsm, despite his work being unknown in the West until the 1970's. This book is less about Dostoyevsky per se, rather a profound meditation on how Dostoyevsky's art exemplifies the central concern of Bakhtin, the concept of 'dialogism'. This idea defies a simple definition; the book in exploring manifold aspects of it, itself becomes truly show more dialogic. If you value Dostoyevsky as an artist, require an antidote to the chill winds of modern 'Theory', or simply appreciate genius at work, catch up with one of the best kept secrets in literature. show lessTags
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Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin (Russian: Михаил Михайлович Бахти́н, pronounced [mʲɪxʌˈil mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ bʌxˈtʲin]) (November 17, 1895, Oryol – March 7, 1975) was a Russian philosopher, literary critic, semiotician[1] and scholar who worked on literary theory, ethics, and the philosophy of language. His writings, which cover a wide variety of subjects, inspired scholars working in a number of different traditions (Marxism, semiotics, structuralism, religious criticism) and in disciplines as diverse as literary criticism, history, philosophy, anthropology and psychology. Although Bakhtin was active in the lively debates on aesthetics and literature that took place in Soviet Russia in the 1920s, his show more distinctive position did not become well known until he was rediscovered by Russian scholars in the 1960s. The translation of his works into a number of different languages in the 1960s, 70s and 80s made him into one of the most influential figures in the human sciences. show less
May 17, 2010Swedish
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Author Information

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Mikhail Bakhtin was born on November 17, 1895 in Orel, Russia. He attended the University of Petrograd from 1913 to 1918, where he studied classics and philology. After graduation, he taught, wrote, and developed many of his theories. From 1945 to 1961, Bakhtin taught at the Mordovia Teachers Training College. He continued to publish works and show more develop theories such as that of dialogics, which contends that language evolves dynamically and both shapes and is shaped by culture. The theories are explored in Art and Answerability and The Dialogic Imagination. Bakhtin wrote several of his early works under the pseudonyms of his friends P.N. Medvedev and V.N. Voloshinov. He was persecuted under the Stalin regime for his philosophies and sentenced to six years imprisonment. A bone disease that ultimately forced the amputation of his right leg in 1938 further complicated his troubles. Bakhtin died on March 7, 1975. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics
- Original title
- Проблемы поэтики Достоевского
- Original publication date
- 1929; 1963 (Revised Edition) (Revised Edition); 1973 (English translation: Ardis) (English translation: Ardis); 1984 (English translation: University of Minnesota Press) (English translation: University of Minnesota Press)
- People/Characters
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
Classifications
- Genres
- Literature Studies and Criticism, Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 891.73 — Literature & rhetoric Asian Literature East Indo-European and Celtic literatures Russian and East Slavic languages Russian fiction
- LCC
- PG3328 .Z6 .B2413 — Language and Literature Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language Slavic. Baltic. Albanian Russian literature Individual authors and works 1800-1870 Dostoyevsky
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 508
- Popularity
- 58,885
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.21)
- Languages
- 15 — English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 30
- ASINs
- 6






























































