Sandzhar Yanyshev’s lyrical prose. A colonial and post-colonial palimpsest

Abstract

The article deals with the lyrical prose by the modern poet Sandzhar Yanyshev. Examining his collection Umr. The New Book of Transformations [Umr. Novaya kniga obrashcheniy] (2017), the author distinguishes the selfidentification process of the lyrical hero, who is a product of the imperial period, typified by bilingual and bicultural intentions. The images-transformationsmetamorphoses of the lyrical prose reveal milestones of the Soviet-era colonial history and their post-colonial reception. Family members in the book are surrounded by an array of historical and mythological figures (from Golem and Christ to Khyzyr-bobo), as well as an allusive-reminiscent set from Russian and world literature. Also investigated is the mix of genres represented in the collection: part of the Russian literary and Uzbek cultural traditions, each of them can be viewed as the contextual genre of umr – an ambivalent phenomenon of life-death, transformation/metamorphosis. Sandzhar Yanyshev’s lyrical prose offers a richly flavoured illustration of current Russian literature and exemplifies the mental processes of the post-colonial era..